Summer Fever
by sv21075
Summary: After summer had returned and an epidemic had rocked Westeros at the same time, affecting the major houses, the whole realm must stand together while an ancient enemy finally returns with unfinished business. Complete AU
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

As the three Rangers rode through the tunnel beneath Castle Black, about to leave the Wall behind them, and head off into the woods, Will could not help but wonder if this was indeed the wrath of the old gods, or merely a slight fraction of it.

It had been nearly a decade since the fever struck. At the same time summer had returned. Everywhere in Westeros, people were stricken by the fever from highborn to the lowest of lowborn, even the King's family was not spared from this plague.

Then from there, it led to mass hysteria and confusion. The highborns blamed this fever on the smallfolk initially, claiming they were filthy scum who could kill with even the smallest touch. The smallfolk did the same, blaming the highborns for not providing enough food, that and much more.

Later, someone had mentioned the gods were incurring their wrath against all the people of Westeros for their sins. Looking back at it, it seemed... reasonable.

King Robert had lost his queen and both his sons, not to mention his brother Stannis and his advisor Davos Seaworth. The smallfolk whispered amongst themselves that the gods had decided to repay the King for killing Rhaegar and supporting the deaths of his family and trying to kill the last dragons whom he usurped the Iron Throne from. The king had been so furious that he sent an army of Goldcloaks out to find the men who said such things just so he could bring his warhammer down upon them. The event caused such a stir that the smallfolk revolted in return, causing the Goldcloaks to retreat back to the Red Keep.

Now word had spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms of the situation in King's Landing and the fact that King Robert was now without a queen, and his two heirs, three if you counted Stannis as well, were dead, leaving his younger brother Renly next in line to inherit the Iron Throne, and his only daughter Myrcella now being his only surviving child, but most importantly, his only means to continue his lineage after he was gone. Already, there was impending rumors of a potential betrothal between her and Robin Arryn, heir to the Vale, not that Will cared about rumors, but it was important to know who would be leading the next generation of lords and ladies. After all, no one really wanted to betroth their only daughter to a young lord who still nursed at his overbearing mother's tit.

The rumors that were most likely to happen, of course, would be the late Lord Stannis' only daughter Shireen, the new Lady of Dragonstone, coming to King's Landing to be a ward and provide Princess Myrcella comfort, but deep down, everyone knew part of the reason was so the King could separate her from her stern, harsh mother Lady Selyse, who word had it, still lamented over her stillborn sons.

But most importantly were the rumors who would be the next Queen of Westeros. Word had it the king's younger brother, Lord Renly, had urged him to remarry and suggested he make Margaery Tyrell queen.

Lady Margaery was nicknamed the Rose of Highgarden, for being either charming or cunning as her mentor and grandmother, the late Queen of Thorns. The Tyrell household had been utterly devastated by Lady Olenna's death, most specifically Lady Margaery, who was said to be very close with her grandmother. To make matters worse, Mace Tyrell, the Warden of the South, did not fare any better. Everyone knew Lady Olenna was the strength behind her House, and her death seemed to take its toll on her son. Some people said that he had roamed around Highgarden, ignoring the servants and his family while lost in his thoughts. What was more heartbreaking was that Mace Tyrell decided to lock himself in his chambers for a week and refused to see anyone. Any tasks that were needed from the Lord of Highgarden he simply neglected and was passed off to his sole remaining heir, Loras, after his other two sons Willas and Garlan were also taken by the fever. While Loras took care of all impending matters and was proving himself to be a capable lord, it was said Margaery had convinced her father with just the right words to let her in, which was soon followed by her father crying a river of tears on Margaery, who held him for nearly two hours, before he composed himself and returned to his duties.

Robert, who was so enraged at the Tyrells, for the siege on his home, Storm's End, gleefully remarked that perhaps the gods were not so cruel after all and nearly refused Renly and...left him with a black eye and a broken nose, simply for stating that she resembled Lyanna Stark.

Lyanna Stark, the She-Wolf of the North, King Robert's one true love, who Robert had fought a war, and killed a Dragon Prince for, only for her to die of a fever, perhaps the same one that was happening in all of Westeros, King Robert noted, which cursed him to marry Cersei Lannister, who had no love for the King despite bearing him three children who quite strangely were all lacking in the Baratheon features, but Will did not press more on that matter.

The Baratheons' words were "Ours is the Fury", and it was said that the Stag King had personified those words when he attacked his brother Renly, and coldly told him no one could replace Lyanna, NO ONE! It was only his Hand, Jon Arryn, who calmed him down and ultimately convinced Robert to marry Lady Margaery at the last minute.

Now the realm would have a new queen, by the looks of things. It all seemed so perfect. So perfect, in fact the Tyrells had been known to try to marry their way to royalty just to gain control over the Iron Throne, almost like a certain House which had now been more stricken than any other House by the utter devastation which had rocked Westeros... House Lannister.

In addition to the Queen and the two Princes, Tyrion Lannister the Imp, who was visiting in King's Landing, had also succumbed to the disease and not long after, his father the great Lord Tywin Lannister soon followed afterwards. Not long before his death, it was said he had sent a raven to his eldest son and much preferred heir Ser Jaime, the Kingslayer, to take up his rightful place as Lord of Casterly Rock, just before passing away early the next day.

One would say the Lannisters had gotten what they deserved, after putting House Reyne to extinction, Ser Jaime breaking his oaths when he decided to stab Aerys the Mad King in the back and ordering the deaths of Princess Elia Martell and her children. Now the Kingslayer and his niece were the last surviving members of Lord Tywin's line.

Will, at one point, would have gladly stated that all the Houses had gotten what they deserved...had it not been for the fact that Lord Commander Mormont and a few of his brothers had died as well.

Some recruits of the Night's Watch at Castle Black had blamed it on the Rangers coming into contact with wildlings or perhaps a corpse of one of their fellow brothers in black, but the majority had stated that the gods had decided to punish the Old Bear for allowing Ser Alliser Thorne, the master-of-arms to pour his malice and his cruelty on the young recruits, for the sake of "building them up".

Some of these aforementioned brothers had rosen up in revolt and had nearly succeeded in killing Ser Alliser right then and there, but all of them were talked down and calmed by Benjen Stark, the First Ranger who also happened to be younger brother to the Warden of the North, whose House did not have any members who had succumbed to the fever...as of yet, but then again it looked like their famous honor had made them favorable in the eyes of the gods. He gave an extensive speech, that perhaps the fever was a test from the gods to determine who was unworthy of life, but also who had the strongest endurance, and even used the famous saying of the Starks, "the lone wolf dies but the pack survives," to emphasize his point that they must stand together in the face of the old gods, and prove to them they were worthy of life, for winter was coming.

All the brothers cheered and roared in approval at the First Ranger, who was proving himself to be a worthy sucessor to Mormont while Ser Alliser had glared at Stark and stalked off to get a hold of himself.

Not long after that, all the brothers of the Night's Watch had decided to name a new Lord Commander in the event of Mormont's eventual death, since the man had gone pale and lost a significant amount of weight to the fever, while being expected to last a few more hours of life. Benjen Stark won almost unanimously, with Alliser Thorne coming in behind with only a few votes.

If that wasn't the talk around the Wall, then everyone had been surprised that the late Lord Commander had given the new one his approval and his family's ancestral sword, Longclaw. What was even more surprising was when Lord Commander Stark had sent Longclaw back to its rightful house, along with Jeor Mormont's body and a letter to his House stating he couldn't take what belonged to them, the Mormonts had sent it back along with a letter of their own, stating that if Jeor had said that Longclaw was his now, then it was his, and the next time that he refused, the Mormonts would leave Bear Island with their men just to beat Stark with Longclaw in front of the recruits for being _too_ _honorable_. The new Lord Commander had laughed in shock, stating his brother would not take too kindly if he had found out if any of his bannermen had done that to his kin.

It would look like things were starting to calm down for the Night's Watch, with them having gained a new Lord Commander, one who wasn't willing to turn a blind eye to recruits' well-being, but as Will split off from his party, he couldn't help the feeling that their troubles were only just beginning. As he passed thrpugh the Haunted Forest, Will felt like he was being watched at this very moment as he rode forward when he caught a patch of smoke rising up. Not by the old gods, but by something cold and ancient as the Wall itself.

Will pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind aas he stepped off his horse, only for his fears to return when he had caught sight of the descerated campsite piled with body parts on the ground in an unholy ritualistic manner. He turned around, only to be held back for a moment as he locked eyes with a young wildling girl hanging from a tree branch, pinned with a stake through her chest. Will quickly jumped back on his horse and rode back to inform the others of his discovery.

"What d'you expect?" said Ser Waymar Royce, the leader of the party, an obnoxious little cunt, who was far too similar to Ser Alliser...or would be, give or take a few more years of experience in the Night's Watch. "They're savages. One lot steals a goat from another lot and before you know it, they're ripping each other to pieces."

"I've never seen wildlings do a thing like this," Will said. "I've never seen anything like this before, not ever in my life."

"How close did you get?"

"Close as any man would."

"We should head back to the Wall," said Gared, the final member of the party, who had more experience in the Night's Watch than Will or Ser Waymar combined, and Will couldn't help but agree with him. He had seen several brothers in black huddled in rows of sickbeds when the fever broke out, and other such things that Will was bold enough to have encountered, but this... this was something completely different. Something that chilled him to the very core.

"Do the dead frighten you?"

Will wasn't brave enough to admit, but yes, he felt a fear stir in him like he had never known. And knowing who was in charge at the moment did not help matters at all, but Will kept his thoughts to himself.

"Our orders were to track the wildlings," said Gared. "We tracked them. They won't trouble us no more."

Will wished he could say the same and head on back to the Wall, but knowing Ser Waymar, knew that was very unlikely.

"You don't think the new Lord Commander'll ask how they died? Get back on your horse."

As Gared grumbled under his breath, Will couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. It was then, at that moment, he had decided to speak up.

"Whatever did it to them could do it to us. They even killed the children."

Royce turned to Will, as if finally realizing he was there, and Will knew he was done for.

"Well then, it's a good thing we're not children. You want to run away south, run away. Of course they will behead you as a deserter... if I don't catch you first. Get back on your horse. I won't say it again."

Will glared at Royce, wanting to throttle the man, but knew that such things would not go unpunished. He reluctantly did as he was told, and as they returned to the campsite, Will still couldn't shake the feeling he had before, but decided not to press it any further.

As each man stepped off their horse, they finally came upon the campsite.

"Your dead men seemed to have moved camp," said Royce who gave Will a look that would've stabbed him in the heart at that moment.

Will didn't pay any attention as his mind was panicking in confusion as to how such a thing, if possible, could have happened.

"They...they were here," Will finally said after his words got stuck in his throat.

"See where they went, Will," said Gared, who noticed Will's state, hoping to break the increasing tension.

As Will went off to look around, Gared and Royce drew their swords and stayed behind, studying the campsite when Gared noticed something on the ground.

"What is it?"

As the north wind blew past them whistling a haunting tune in the likes of the Rains of Castamere boasting of whatever happens when one questions House Lannister, Gared finally pulled out a red cloth buried in the snow.

"It's..." Gared's words died in his throat, as he saw a figure rising up from the snow behind Royce, who in confusion at Gared's apprehension, turned around as its blade struck him.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Not too far, Will was startled when the Rangers' horses brushed past him hurriedly. He turned in confusion in all directions until he finally saw someone standing very still in the distance behind him, their back turned towards Will. The figure finally turned and Will's heart beat faster by every second until he got a good look at them... then his heart stopped. It was the same girl who Will had come acrosd suspended in the tree, only her lifeless eyes now glew an icy blue.

_This is the wrath of the gods, _Will thought.

He turned and ran for his very life.

If only he had known what would've happened, Will would have gladly knocked that idiot Royce into unconsciousness and turned back to the safeties of the Wall with Gared. No, he should have brought some of the mangled body parts as proof to Royce, maybe the arrogant cunt would have been more reasonable and had them present the new Lord Commander with their discovery when they were safely back in Castle Black. But now... now it was too late. It was useless to think of what could've been but more importantly, he needed to survive.

Will's heart was already pumping to the point of explosion. He needed to breathe for a few minutes before he could continue on to Castle Black.

Will's eyes widened as he saw something running in his direction, only to be relieved when he realized it was Gared. Both men stopped a distance apart from each other, and every breath they took was filled in between with wheezes and coughs. Once their breathing relaxed, Will turned up to Gared, only for his heart to miss a beat as Gared's head was neatly separated from his body.

Will began to cry. As the creature threw Gared's head at him, he sunk to his knees in despair.


	2. The Broken Knight

Chapter 1:

**JAIME**

As the bells rung outside King's Landing, within the Red Keep, Ser Jaime Lannister watched with tears streaming down his face as the Silent Sisters gave their final rites to his twin sister, the late Queen Cersei, and thought to himself, _how could the gods be so cruel?!?_ His mother had died giving birth to his younger brother, Tyrion, who was then cursed by given a stunted form and later being subjected to a life of despair and cruelty by his father and sister, but Jaime was the only one who took pity on his baby brother and promised to protect him whenever he could. Yet now Jaime could not help but feel helpless and remorseful. These last few days had brought nothing but pure tragedy and misery upon the Kingslayer as the infamous disease which now plagued Westeros had stricken the majority of his family. Only Jaime and his da-, niece, Princess Myrcella, were the only ones in their family spared from suffering, or so Grand Maester Pycelle stated.

When the royal family had taken ill, they were kept locked in separate chambers, as to not spread the disease any further with any person who came into contact, and only few people could be in the room. King Robert had then sent someone down to the Black Cells to see if any of the prisoners had been affected. Not surprisingly, some of them were taken by the fever as well, the most distinguishable case being a Lorathi criminal they had captured a few weeks ago, with shiny long, straight hair, colored white on one side and red on the other. Jaime had witnessed during the beginning of the epidemic, many smallfolk crying out in pain and sadness as they lost a loved one to this disease, yet in this instance, the man, Jaqen H'ghar, Jaime believed his name was, gave a small eerie smile, and said, "To the Many Faced God, I now relinquish my spirit to you", before drawing his final breath. He was a Faceless Man, Jaime realized. Jaime had never been so unnerved in his life, the only other instance that came close was his time serving under King Aerys II.

_Aerys_, Jaime thought. _If he'd lived to see what was happening right now, he would not have hesitated to use the wildfire I killed him for trying to set off. _Those thoughts made Jaime recall Cersei's rant a few years ago, when the disease was just starting out, and how she demanded her husband King Robert send for Lord Tywin and his men to dispel the smallfolk, and have them put to the sword, whether or not they had the disease. Robert had slapped her across the face and then demanded to know whether she wished to become the next Aerys. That thought alone made Jaime shudder. Yes, he loved Cersei with all his being, but sometimes there were moments where Jaime almost didn't recognize her at all... or was afraid of what she might do.

When Joffrey had succumbed to the fever, Cersei was informed immediately and broke down into screams and cries of agony, wishing her Joffrey would come back. King Robert had rolled his eyes and ordered Grand Maester Pycelle to give her milk of the poppy. Jaime was angry with Robert for doing that, yet he could not help but feel... relieved. Cersei had raised their firstborn with her ideas and beliefs, and as the boy grew up, Jaime rued the day that he would become king. He was an absolute terror, tormenting his younger siblings and the servants inside the Red Keep and then there was the case where he carved out a pregnant cat's unborn kitten and presented it to his parents. King Robert had spanked the child ignoring Cersei's protests. Cersei did not speak to the king for a week, and had sought comfort in the arms of her other half. When they discussed Joffrey's behavior, Cersei defended him as he was, in her eyes, "teaching the others to be strong", before stating he would make a fine king someday. Jaime looked at his sister and wondered what in the seven hells went on in her mind. Couldn't she see that Joffrey was absolutely unfit to be king? If it was Tommen, Jaime would have been pleased to serve under him and protect him until his last breath.

When Jaime had informed Cersei of Tommen's passing, she cried but not as much as she did for Joffrey. She then went into a panic attack, murmuring that it was happening, it was finally happening, much to Jaime's confusion. When Jaime had asked her what was happening, she then went on to say that there was no time left, and the valonqar must die. Jaime had no idea what she was going on about, and then left her in the care of Pycelle and the servants to ensure she didn't try anything else. He then went to see Tyrion, and his heart broke down the moment he saw his small thin form, drawing each ragged breath in and out.

"Hello, brother."

Tyrion's eyes opened and he smiled up at Jaime.

"Hello, Tyrion."

Jaime couldn't help but smile back. Even in his final moments, Tyrion was still himself.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm in the Seven Hells right now." Jaime frowned at that. "Don't give me that look. You know that's how everyone who has had this disease felt before their final moments." Tyrion paused. "I suppose that these are my final moments in this life."

"Yes," Jaime said quietly.

"Life can be such a disappointment at times, brother. I had so many things I wanted to do, things to see. Things such as dying in my own bed at the age of eighty, with a belly full of wine and a mai-"

"--maiden's mouth around my cock," Jaime smiled. "That's how you've always wanted to leave this life."

"Yes." Tyrion smiled for a moment. "Now it seems the gods have taken that from me, having me die in a sick bed at the age of twenty-four, surrounded by no one except my dear brother, expressing the things I wanted to do in life. I bet the whores are going to be mourning from Dorne to the Wall once they hear about my death."

"Yes."

"I wonder how Father is feeling right now."

Jaime had shot up his eyebrows in response. They had received a raven from Casterly Rock that morning stating that Lord Tywin was ill, and had asked for Jaime, to take up his rightful place as heir to Casterly Rock after he and his siblings were gone.

"I bet he must be throwing a fit knowing his legacy that he so hoped for, has been dashed to ashes, now that both his grandsons are gone, and he along with two of his children, including the son he rejected out of spite, are soon to follow afterwards." Tyrion's face turned serious. "What a fitting turn of events. He finally gets you as the heir he wanted, but at the cost of losing his family. It serves him right."

"You shouldn't say such things--"

"Actually I do. Or have you not forgotten, dear brother, how he sought to make my life a miserable hell, all for killing my mother?"

"And like I said, it wasn't your fault."

"Of course, it wasn't. I had no intention of doing so, but that didn't stop him from bringing it up time to time! That man sought to ruin my life, forced me to watch as his men had sex with my wife, the whore you paid to have a good time with me, and pay her for her services, then had me annul my marriage to her, and then sent her on her way to whichever tavern she came from."

"She was not a whore!"

A moment of silence followed afterwards as Jaime took into consideration the words he just said, and as he looked at Tyrion, he could see that his face was a mix of expressions, anger and confusion being the prime ones.

"What did you say?"

"Tyrion, I-"

"Don't you dare hold back on me, Jaime!" Jaime was stunned at the amount of venom in Tyrion's voice. "I want you to repeat what you just said and why you said it!"

Jaime hesitated, but sighed in defeat. "Tysha was not a whore, she was exactly what she said she was, a crofter's daughter. I didn't pay her or the men who we stopped from trying to rape her, that was real."

Jaime could hear Tyrion's rushed breathing, and the more he heard it, the more he regretted his decisions. It wasn't too long until Tyrion glared at him and Jaime was so shocked to see the similarities to Father.

"WHY?!?", Tyrion spat.

"Father," Jaime said. "He made me lie to you, said he wanted to teach you a lesson on what happens when you defied his expectations for House Lannister."

Tyrion remained silent, but never took his eyes off Jaime. Jaime was so shocked, he wasn't sure what Tyrion would do next. A few moments of silence followed shortly afterwards, and then Tyrion sighed.

"So it seems Father has won then. He was always wanting to shape you into the heir he always wanted, and now you have succeeded in becoming just that."

"Tyrion--"

"I want you to leave."

Jaime was stunned at the finality in Tyrion's voice, and knew he also was Father's son as well. Jaime smiled, but then remembered he needed to make things right with Tyrion.

"Tyrion, I--"

"Which part of 'I want you to leave', did you not understand, Jaime? I do not wish to speak to you at all. I had thought that you were the only one who I could rely on in the final moments of my life, but even now, it seems like there is always another reminder that I am the unwanted Lannister. Father's always sought to refuse naming me his heir to Casterly Rock. He was afraid I was going to use it as my personal whorehouse, not that I would do such a thing. But of course, he still preferred on naming you, even though you were a member of the Kingsguard who refused to leave his place out of '_honor_'." Tyrion spat the last word out as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Of course, however, Father would be disappointed if he found out exactly the real reason you refused to leave. He'd have cut off any ties to us from the moment he'd found out about your little affair with Cersei, and left us to fend for ourselves from King Robert's wrath, yet you've succeeded in keeping this information away from their ears, so congratulations, you truly are _Father's_ son, sharing his cunning and deceit. I hope Casterly Rock is fitting for your comfort."

That was when Jaime had enough. "I never asked for Casterly Rock! All I ever wanted was a place as an honorable knight of the Kingsguard, and before you say anything, you're right, you're right! I soiled whatever honor I had left when I plunged my sword into the Mad King's back and was found guilty by Ned Stark, the most honorable man in the seven kingdoms, who himself soiled his own honor, when he fathered a bastard during the war!"

"Well, I'd much prefer Ned Stark's company to yours," Tyrion said, leaving Jaime stunned. But before he could say anything, Tyrion's small body started trembling violently. Ser Jaime screamed for the servants to get Pycelle, before turning back to Tyrion. "Tyrion? Everything will be alright, you hear me? Everything will be alright, just stay with me."

"Jaime..."

Jaime barely heard Tyrion's voice, and waited for what he had to say.

"It should have been you," Tyrion said before he drew his last breath.

Jaime stood there, holding his body in his arms. _No_, he thought. _No, no, no, no, this couldn't be happening. __It shouldn't have been him, it should have been me_. Then he remembered his brother's final words and he knew. He failed his brother in this life and he failed to keep his promise. Jaime wept and held his brother for a while, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and came face-to-face with Ser Barristan and Jon Arryn, who both wore looks of sympathy on them, while the Hand of the King's eyes locked with Jaime's, and he could see a look of chastise and rebuke on him.

_Damn the man_, Jaime thought. Cersei had confided in Jaime her beliefs that Lord Arryn suspected of their affair, as he had visited some of Robert's bastards with the King's late brother Stannis in the daytime. And yet here he was, judging Jaime for condemning his brother to death. The man didn't say anything, but Jaime was sure the word 'kinslayer' would be the first thing to come out of his mouth.

Jaime then went to inform Cersei of Tyrion's death, and had expected her to gloat and laugh that the "little monster that killed my mother" had died. He did not expect her to say she was wrong about Tyrion. It was well known throughout the Seven Kingdoms that Tyrion and his sister did not get along, after all he had killed their mother, and she hated him for it ever since, so for her to say she was wrong about him, was surprising to Jaime, and confusing.

When he asked her what she meant by that, she sighed and said, "I was wrong about Tyrion being the _valonqar_."

Jaime froze. Cersei had mentioned earlier that the valonqar needed to die, but... Jaime then remembered that valonqar was the High Valyrian word for 'younger sibling'.

_No_, Jaime thought. She couldn't possibly have thought of murdering him. Sure she hated him, but not to the point of killing him in his sleep... wasn't she? Then he remembered the time the Martells visited and how he stopped from pinching Tyrion's member when he was only a babe. _No, no, she couldn't have. _

Jaime asked her about the valonqar, and she then explained the prophecy she was given by a woods witch on the day she was set to be betrothed to Prince Rhaegar. Cersei would never marry him, but the king who killed him and overthrew his House. She would be queen for a time, until another more beautiful came to cast her down and take all she held dear. Obviously the king would need to remarry to produce more sons, after Joffrey and Tommen's untimely deaths, and Cersei's eventual death. The king would have 20 children and Cersei three, who would all die, which sounded right, except for the fact that Myrcella still lived. Perhaps the witch was wrong on that part. Then the part that mentioned the valonqar came up, about how Cersei's tears drowned her, the aforementioned "valonqar" would wrap his hands around her throat and choke the life out of her. Obviously that never came to fruition since Tyrion had died, no thanks to Cersei's obsession with the damned prophecy. Jaime was silent as he listened, but his rage was boiling inside him as she spoke.

Cersei then surprised him by saying that _he _was the valonqar, and not Tyrion. Cersei defended herself, saying she had misinterpreted the circumstances in which she would die, thinking Tyrion would rise up in revolt against her and her children, but the witch had not mentioned the fever that was currently happening in Westeros. It was then she begged Jaime to take her life. Jaime had no idea what madness was spouting out of Cersei's mouth, but he would not do such a thing, no matter how angry he was with her.

"Please, Jaime," Cersei sobbed. Jaime knew he hated seeing her in this state, which he had seen before, when Robert had disgraced her on their wedding night after calling her Lyanna. "I don't want to linger on in this pain. I know I've made many mistakes, raising Joffrey being one of them, but please I beg you, set me free."

Jaime took a long look at her, and saw how the fever had made her lose weight, giving her a frail appearance, along with her ragged breathing. He knew she was a vain woman who cared about her image and being, and manipulated men with her looks into doing as told.

"Damn you woman," Jaime said. "The things I do for love."

The next thing Jaime knew was he wrapped his fingers around her throat, and finally let the rage and sadness within him take charge as Cersei struggled violently against him, to no avail as the fever had taken what little strength she had, and as she buckled one last time, Jaime wept again and held her form in his arms_. _The next day, a raven had arrived from Casterly Rock informing him of his father, the great Lord Tywin's passing, and now the gods had condemned him in this life to serve as its next Lord, a position he had unintentionally usurped from his late brother, who'd have a better lord than he.

Jaime was pulled away from his thoughts as Jon Arryn approached and quietly hoped this situation wouldn't get too out of control.

Both men stayed absolutely silent for a few moments before Jon spoke.

"Ser Jaime, the king wishes to speak with you."

Jaime dreaded hearing those words. After all, someone within the Red Keep had the bright idea to spread word of the chaos going on within the royal family among the smallfolk, even going so far as to question the closeness of the late Queen and her twin. Jaime was so enraged he wanted to find the bloody fool who thought this amusing. He was certain it had to have been someone on the Small Council who wasn't a member of House Baratheon, but he wasn't for sure which one. Pycelle was loyal to House Lannister, but now that Tywin and Cersei were gone, he might be willing to turn on Ser Jaime to save his own skin. Varys was the Master of Whisperers, whose loyalty was questionable at best, but Jaime couldn't imagine the Spider pulling this off. And finally there was Littlefinger, the sniveling Master of Coin, who was a flatterer and opportunist, who stood by the stronger side with more power in the game of thrones, and right now House Lannister had lost its head, leaving an inexperienced heir, but even he knew it would mean his death. And now it looked like the unknown culprit had succeeded in playing a part in Ser Jaime's downfall.

"What about?"

Ser Jaime remained calm. After all, his father had stated once when he was younger, it is not right to be hasty and make a thoughtless decision that could cost you your life."Your appointment as the new Lord of Casterly Rock."

Jaime nodded silently and followed Jon Arryn into the chambers of the Small Council, whom were already seated, including King Robert, which was a surprise, after all he never showed up at these things unless it was serious.

"Ah, good, you've brought him. Kingslayer, take a seat." Jaime did as he was told, but noticed everyone was giving him a hard critical look. Before he could say anything, he noticed the Hand give Robert a look and the king spoke again.

"So, Kingslayer, before we begin, I would like to say, on behalf of the Small Council, how sorry we are for your loss," Robert said, and somehow Jaime doubted the sincerely of his words.

"Yes, indeed," spoke Pycelle who, if Jaime didn't know any better, might have been the most sincere one out of everyone in the room. "Such a horrible tragedy. May the gods have mercy upon Lord Tywin's soul, and that of his kin." Jaime forced himself to not roll his eyes, as he knew too well he was referring to only Cersei and her sons, leaving Tyrion out.

"May they indeed," Jon Arryn said before looking at Jaime. "Your Grace, may we continue?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Now to start things off, Ser Jaime, I'd like to share with you some news."

"And what news might that be, your Grace?"

"Viserys Targaryen is dead," King Robert said gleefully, leaving Jaime in shock. "It seems like the gods saw fit to remove another _dragonspawn _off the face of the earth."

"How did this happen?"

"Apparently the disease isn't just here in Westeros," Varys said, in relief, it almost sounded like. "There have been a few small cases in Essos, but nothing of import until now. My little birds say that the Beggar Prince had fallen ill to the disease before his untimely death."

"I say farewell and good riddance," Robert said. "Now we have at least one more dragonspawn to get rid of--"

"Princess Daenerys still lives?" Jaime asked.

"Unfortunately yes, she still lives, but not for long."

"Robert--"

"Don't even try to stop me, Jon." King Robert roared. "All my life, I have been hoping to put an end to their inbreeding lot, after what Rhaegar did to my Lyanna. And I will not just stand by and let this opportunity slip me by. Not this time. Which is why you are going to be helping me, Kingslayer."

"I-- what?"

"Both you and your father helped me win the damn throne by putting the Targaryens to the sword. I need your help in putting down that dragonscum once and for all."

"Robert, please," Jon Arryn said. "I beg you. What harm is there in letting her live? She has already suffered enough with the death of her brother. Why add more to her suffering?"

"Why? WHY, Jon?!? You seriously ask me why? No amount of pain that incestuous dragonwhore goes through will ever match up to the amount of pain Lyanna felt in her last moments."

"She is just a child, Robert. Even if she were to press her claim, there will be many in Westeros who will question being ruled by a woman. Your Grace, I implore you to think this through."

"I have thought this through enough, Jon. She may be a child now, but she won't remain one forever. Soon she will start spreading her legs to that Dothraki savage her brother betrothed her to, and then we won't stand a chance against them and their _fucking __khalasar!_"

"They won't cross the Narrow Sea, Robert. The Dothraki are afraid of crossing waters they do not know."

"And what if they do? What then, Jon?"

"Then we prepare ourselves. Besides, why do you want to rush into war so soon, Your Grace?"

"Do you not hear what the smallfolk say about me? They say the Seven are paying my house back all because we put those damned dragonspawn into the ground, yet they seem to forget everything the Mad King did."

_Ah__, _Jaime thought_. __So that's what's got him all riled up. _Jaime had heard that the High Sparrow had spoken out against the king saying the gods were paying him and his family back for their sins, and the King had sent Goldcloaks to bring the man to him, but were forced to retreat back inside the Red Keep after the Sparrows and smallfolk instigated a riot. Robert was so enraged he had asked for the Mountain to bring him the High Sparrow, and the man returned with blood covered all over his armor... and the High Sparrow's head. Since then, the cries of the smallfolk had only gotten stronger, convinced that the late High Sparrow was right about the king, who was growing frantically frustrated every day.

"And not only that, but the smallfolk are now calling for the Mountain's head even as we speak."

"Then listen to them. You know, as well as I do, that his death was bound to come sooner or later. Listening to the people will not only make them pleased, but if we hand his corpse over to the Martells as well, it should soften relations with them."

"**NO**!," Robert said. "I will not give those _dragonlovers_ satisfaction in seeing my downfall. I will not do it, Jon!"

"Robert, for the last time, I implore you to listen once in your miserable life," Jon snapped, leaving everyone in the room speechless. The Lord of the Vale had not once spoken so fiercely at the king in all the time he served him as Hand. Seeing him do so now was sure to make things interesting. "We turned against the Mad King because he refused to listen to his council when he burned Rickard Stark alive and his son Brandon had himself executed trying to save him. If you refuse to hand the Mountain over, everyone in Westeros will turn against you." Robert glared at Jon, whose tone grew softer. "I am trying to help you save your kingdom, Your Grace. Please, Robert, I ask you, give the Mountain over."

Robert fumed, and slowly shook his head. "Fine, Jon. We'll do it your way." He slumped back in his chair and sighed in defeat. "What else do we need to do here?"

"Well," said Renly, who still sported the black eye and broken nose Robert had given him. "With Stannis' death, we need to name a new Master of Ships. I was thinking..."

"If you say we should name Mace Tyrell, I will not hesitate to give you another black eye, brother."

Renly winced, while Littlefinger smirked. Jaime would have, as well, but his mood had become darker since the death of his family. After Jon Arryn gave Robert a look, Robert decided to heed to Renly's advice.

"What else?"

"To adress the nature of Ser Jaime's_ relationship_ with the late _Queen_ Cersei," Jon Arryn said. King Robert's face grew deadly serious and looked at Jaime, who remained calm, but looked at each of the Small Council who were observing Jaime through their own eyes, to see what would happen.

"So, Kingslayer," Robert said coldly. "It seems like someone has been spreading very disgusting rumors that you and your sister took part in things that I have only known those damned Targaryens to do, and that her children aren't actually mine, but yours. I know someone like you wouldn't act in such a way, or am I wrong... _Kingslayer_?"

A moment of silence followed, and then Jaime shook his head.

"Of course not... _your Grace_." Jaime seemed to add that last bit as an afterthought.

Robert glared at Jaime, who glared right back. The Small Council could feel the uneasy tension in that room, as they held in their breaths waiting to see what their king would do next... before Robert finally laughed.

Jaime stared at him in confusion and worry, as did the Small Council.

"No, of course you wouldn't. Because if it were true, I would have known about it a long time ago. After all everyone here in this room can be relied upon, can they not?" Robert stared down the members of the Small Council, most specifically Pycelle, Varys, and Littlefinger, who shifted uneasily in their seats before giving murmurs of agreement with the king. Robert smiled, and looked back at Jaime, who gulped slightly. "And if it were, I would have rendered House Lannister extinct, like the Reynes..." Robert's smile dropped instantly. "...down to the last... fucking... member."

Jaime stared at Robert with a blank expression. It was Jon Arryn who cleared his throat to break the tension.

"Your Grace, may I please speak?"

Robert was silent for a moment, before he turned to his Hand. "Of course, Jon. After all, I trust you well enough."

Jon turned to Jaime, who wondered what he would say. After all, Jon Arryn was the only one he knew who would put the final nail in his coffin.

"I do not believe Ser Jaime would act in such a way."

_What?_, Jaime thought. This was not something he had expected from Jon Arryn. Nor the members of the Small Council who looked at the Hand of the King in astonishment.

"To do would be treason, and it would leave you without a trueborn son to inherit the Iron Throne. Worse, it would mean Ser Jaime has brought shame and dishonor upon his House, and the Lannisters have been known for bringing pride and prestige to their House. Therefore it is my conclusion that Ser Jaime could not have performed such an act."

Jaime looked at Jon in disbelief at what he just did. They shared a look with each other, before he turned to Robert, who stared at him for a moment before nodding. "High and fine words, Jon. Words truly spoken in this matter. I have never doubted your advice for one moment. You have truly proven you're trustworthy and can be relied upon at any time." The king then turned to Jaime. "Ser Jaime Lannister, in light of your situation, I, Robert Baratheon, King of the Andals, Rhoynar, you know the rest... hereby release you from your vows in the Kingsguard and name you the new Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West."

Jaime's eyes watered again at the reminder that he was the last Lannister male of his line. He stood up, and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, your Grace."

Robert nodded. "We are adjourned."

Everyone proceeded to get up from the Small Council table and leave, but not before congratulating Jaime on his new position and expressing their services to him. Pycelle offered another oath of undying loyalty to House Lannister, while Littlefinger and Varys offered sympathies at Ser Jaime's loss before trying to trick him into a potential alliance that could cost him his life, but he kindly and firmly refused them. After that, Jaime was about to leave before Jon Arryn stopped him.

"_Lord __Jaime_, may I have a word with you?"

Jaime nodded. After all, he wanted to find out why Jon Arryn lied about him, and in front of the king.

When they arrived at the Tower of the Hand, Jon Arryn closed the door and sat down behind his desk, inclining Jaime to take a seat. Jaime did.

"I assume you want to know why I lied to our king, which I did not enjoy having to do."

"So then, why'd you do it?"

"Mercy."

"Mercy?" Jaime raised an eyebrow.

"Mercy on Princess Myrcella. She is just a young girl who has lost nearly her entire family, and who is _innocent _of any wrong committed by your House."

Jaime scowled. "Tommen and Tyrion were innocent as well."

"Yes," said Jon. "They were innocent. However, you forget that Tommen _and his brother _were abominations spawned from your passionate affair with your sister who had no right to sit on the Iron Throne. The fact that both of them are dead, mean House Lannister does not pose a threat anymore to the Throne. And it is only because of that, and Myrcella's sake, I have chosen not to reveal anything to the king so far."

"Do you plan to?"

"I should. After that debacle you caused with your brother..." Jon sighed. "...he would have been a decent Lord of Casterly Rock, had you not usurped your way to power."

"I did not usurp my way to power," Jaime grit his teeth.

"No, not in the way you think, but you delivered the final blow which resulted in your brother's death by revealing your part in his wife's rape." Jaime winced and glared at the Hand. "I never knew the Imp, but it saddens me... and it angers me that one would do such a thing to their own blood, no less. I hope you're happy with what you have done, Lord Jaime, for now the gods have cursed you with that knowledge for the rest of your life, and they, like your House, always pay their debts."

Jaime got up and left the room... and stumbled into a large man whose face was completely burned on his left side.

"Watch where you're going, you bloody fool!" said the Hound, who looked nearly ready to smash Jaime's head in against the wall alike his brother, only to stop when he recognized him.

"Clegane," Jaime nodded.

"Lannister," grunted the Hound, who gave a loud burp.

"Are you drunk?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do here now that the little shit of your nephew is dead, besides not trying to kill my brother in order to please the smallfolk?"

Jaime sighed. The Hound was not one to hold words back, no matter how dangerous they were. And yet here he was, another man who lost his purpose in King's Landing. Jaime looked up at the Hound as an idea formed in his head.

"Something useful."

"Fuck off."

"That's no way to talk to your liege lord."

The Hound looked at Ser Jaime and laughed. "Oh, is it Lord Jaime now? I suppose it is, now that all your fucking family has died off?"

Jaime glared at the Hound. "So it would appear."

"To what do I owe you the pleasure then, my lord?" Clegane gave a mock bow.

"How would you feel about doing as you wish with your brother by handing him over to the Martells?"

The Hound stopped, and then got a good look at Jaime. "You plan on handing my brother over? What does the King have to say about it?"

"The King was the one who gave me permission, and as Lord of Casterly Rock, I am prepared to see this through. The Martells have long been crying out for the Mountain's death after his role in the murders of Princess Elia and her children. Not only will it soften relations between the Crown and Dorne, but it only lessens chances of my House going to war against theirs."

The Hound nodded. "Alright, I'm in, but on one condition."

"And that is?"

"No one kills my brother, except me."

Jaime was quiet for a moment, then nodded his head. "Well then, it looks like we have an agreement." He offered his hand to shake the Hound's.

The Hound accepted it by firmly gripping it, nearly crushing his blood circulation.

"So now what do we do?"

"Now..." Jaime said. "We prepare ourselves."

**A/N**: Hey, everyone. I apologise for not updating sooner, but I've been really busy with work and school and never really had a chance to post the next chapter, but here it is. At first I wasn't for sure how I wanted to move along, then it was making sure I wrote the characters the right way, and later drafting it down to how I wanted it. I'm sorry if Cersei's death feels a bit rushed and overdone in the style of DD (I enjoyed the show, even the last season, but I really wished they had made Jon king instead of Bran), but in my opinion Cersei knows she is dying and does not wish to have a painful death, so she begs Jaime to play his part in her "prophecy". Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and don't forget to review, let me know what you think, and follow this story if you haven't already. See you next time!


	3. The Last Dragon

Chapter 2:

**DAENERYS**

As she stood above the balcony observing the children play on the streets in Pentos outside Magister Illyrio Mopatis' manse, Daenerys Targaryen wished she could disappear among them.

When news of the fever breaking out amomgst the populace of Westeros first came to their shores, Viserys had laughed and said that it was their punishment for "waking the dragon." Then recently, Viserys' words were thrown back at him as he fell ill with only a few hours to live. Her brother had then summoned her to his sickbed, where he waited alongside Magister Illyrio as they had made plans to betroth her to Khal Drogo in hopes of gaining his khalasar to prepare for an attack against the Usurper and take back their father's throne in Viserys' name. Now it looked like Daenerys would be the one to take it back, and she knew he was not very pleased about it.

"I always expected you to be the first to die out of the both of us," Viserys had said. "But it looks like I was wrong about that." Viserys soon coughed heavily and spat up blood, before continuing as if nothing had happened. "Dany... after I am gone, you will be the last of our House, gods help us. I did not wish it to be so, after all you are still too weak to even be considered the blood of the dragon." Dany did not let her emotions show on her face, but her brother's statement stung her. "But... you are the blood of the dragon. Never forget that, Daenerys." Viserys started heavily coughing again, and his body shook violently he screamed out his last words. "_REMEMBER OUR WORDS: FIRE AND BLOOD, DANY! FIRE AND BLOOD."_ After that, Viserys gurgled and took his last breath, and Daenerys was now the the last of her House, leaving her both relieved and terrified. Relieved she wouldn't have to suffer her brother's wrath anymore... and terrified she was now alone, fearing any moment that the Usurper's assassins would kill her or bring her to King's Landing to be killed by the Usurper himself. The thought alone took away Dany's sleep at night, causing her to walk around the manse to reflect on her life and she realized that the more she worried about being killed, the more likely it would happen. So, she listened to Magister Illyrio's daily advice on how to rule and received lessons on how to pleasure Khal Drogo from Doreah, a Lysene girl her late brother bought for her as a wedding gift to serve as one of her handmaidens. Daenerys could hear her brother's voice scream, _Fire and Blood_, as she made progress each day as she waited for her wedding to Khal Drogo. Today was her first meeting with the Khal, and she was determined not to let her brother down even though he was gone, for she knew the Khal was her only form of protection from the Usurper who had wanted her dead and to render her House's extinction. But Daenerys was not going to give him that satisfaction. _Fire and blood, Dany. Fire and blood. _Soshe quickly ordered a bath of scalding hot water which did not seem to affect her in any way.

"I am the blood of the dragon," Dany murmured to herself.

After that, she dressed herself in the clothes Magister Illyrio had brought for her, and then made her way outside the mansion by his side, yet there was still no sign of the Khal.

"Where is he?" Dany asked.

"Do not worry, Your Grace." She was still getting used to hearing that. "The Dothraki are not known for their punctuality."

The next thing they heard was the sound of hooves and neighing of horses. Dany could see the Dothraki host as they rode up, with Khal Drogo wheeling his stallion forward. Daenerys had heard from the servants of Khal Drogo's handsome appearance and could not agree with them more. She was entranced by the man.

Illyrio seemed to notice and whispered in her ear. "Do you see how long his hair is, Your Grace? When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they cut off their braid so the world can see their shame. Khal Drogo has never been defeated. He may be a savage, but he is one of the best killers alive. And you are to be his Queen."

Illyrio stepped away from Dany and made his way forward.

"May I present my honored guest?" spoke Illyrio in Dothraki. "Daenerys the last member of House Targaryen, the first of her name, the rightful Queen of the Andals, Rhoynar and the First Men."

Daenerys heard the titles given to her, and was still couldn't believe that all of this was happening. But before she could reflect more on it, she was brought back to reality by Illyrio, who summoned her forward.

As she approached, she couldn't take her eyes of Drogo, for he was a sight to behold. For a moment, she thought his eyes sparkled as he gazed at her, but it was broken shortly after as he and his men rode off.

_Forgive me, _Dany thought sadly._ I have failed you, brother._"You did well, Your Grace," Magister Illyrio said. "The ceremony is over."

Dany hunched her brows in confusion.

"But he didn't say anything," Daenerys said. "Did he like me?"

"Trust me, Your Grace. If he didn't like you, we'd know."

They then walked over to a garden balcony overlooking the sea.

"It won't be long now, Your Grace. Soon you shall cross the Narrow Sea and take back your father's throne. The people of Westeros drink secret toasts to your health. They cry out for their true Queen."

"Are they now?" Daenerys shot Illyrio a quizzical look. "You don't have to lie to me, Magister. I am not my brother after all."

Illyrio's face took on a puzzled look at first, but it then transformed into a smile. "Of course not, Your Grace. I am rather thankful for it actually. Your brother was so delusional in trying to get the Iron Throne back, he wouldn't accept the truth for an answer... or killed anyone who spoke it."

"So you lied to the both of us, telling me that Westeros was waiting for us, but in reality they just want to see us dead along with the Usurper."

"Your Grace, if I may speak freely. The Usurper has led the Crown into debt and has proven himself an unfit ruler. Westeros does not realize it now, but they need a ruler who cares about the affairs of the people, not someone who just pockets their purses full of coin and cares about their own image. Your brother would not have made an excellent ruler, Your Grace. He would have just followed in the footsteps of your father the Mad King."

"That is not true!" Daenerys shrieked.

"Unfortunately I am afraid it is, Your Grace," said Illyrio. He tilted his head at him. "Or did you really believe the stories your brother told you of the lords of Westeros rebelling against your House out of jealousy and spite? You would be a fool to do so."

"Do you take me for a fool, Magister?"

"I take you for a Queen, your Grace. Kings and queens lack the caution of common men. My apologies if I have given offense. I just want you to see the truth as is, if you are to become the ruler Westeros deserves."

"Do you really believe that, or is that another one of your lies?"

"It is no lie, Your Grace. I do believe in what you could become, as is our mutual friend."

"And when will I get to meet him?"

"Soon, Your Grace. Soon."

_Yes, _Daenerys thought. _Soon. Soon I will take back my family's throne. For I am the blood of the dragon. The blood of Aegon the Conqueror. And I shall my face my enemies. With fire and blood._

**A/N: **And here is to all of you who had been patiently waiting for my next update. Think of it as an added bonus! This, along with the prologue were probably the most easiest chapters probably because they were a bit too close to canon, with some slight differences. Next chapter I'll be working on will revolve around everyone's favorite Northern family. See you guys later!


	4. Eddard I

Chapter 3:

**EDDARD**

As he stood with his household in Winterfell's courtyard awaiting the king's arrival, Ned Stark could not help but be overwhelmed with the damage the mysterious fever had brought upon Westeros despite being blessed with the fact neither of his family had succumbed to the disease itself. And the events that came with it.

When the fever had first struck, people were calling it the gods' wrath. Perhaps their gods, Ned thought, but the old gods are kind to all, and whatever was happening now was a test of faith on their part. Oh, how wrong he was.

Jon Snow, his so called bastard, who was actually Aegon Targaryen VI, the only child of his beloved sister, Lyanna, from her doomed marriage to Prince Rhaegar, and true heir to the Iron Throne, had been stricken by the disease. Catelyn had been furious when Ned brought him into their home and had only made life harsh for the boy. Ned wanted to go over and comfort him, but it was the only way to keep him safe. And now the gods were paying him back for not doing more.

Eddard had gone several times to check on the boy to see if his health improved. But each time, however, all Ned could see was his sister lying on her deathbed. _You have to protect him. _Ned sat next to Jon's bedside. _Promise me, Ned. Promise me. _Ned's eyes teared up, and he knelt over to kiss Jon's forehead before leaving the room to go to the godswood and prayed for the gods to let him live. He then headed down to the crypts and stopped in front of Lyanna's statue.

"Forgive me," said Ned. "I have failed you, Lyanna. I have failed to protect Jon, I have failed to protect your boy." He bowed his head down in sorrow.

"How could you, Ned?," said a voice that wasn't Lyanna's.

Ned's head shot up and looked to the entrance, where his lady wife was standing.

"Catelyn."

"How could you lie to all of us?" Catelyn said. "How could you lie to your family? How could you lie to me and not tell me who he really was?!? Do you realize how I made that poor boy suffer because I thought he was a reminder of you breaking your oaths? I made that boy feel unwelcome here to the point where I prayed for the gods to take him away!"

Ned's hairs on the back of his head stood up.

"You cannot mean-"

"Yes, Ned. I caused your son to fall ill. I thought it would make me feel better, but as I saw him lying there, I felt ashamed for doing so, and prayed for the gods to let him live so I could promise to be a mother to him, and love him if he were my own."

Catelyn broke out into sobs, and Ned went over to hug her, but she shook him off and glared at him before running off, leaving him alone to reflect on how he caused harm to his family.

Jon ultimately recovered, with Maester Luwin calling it a miracle, while Ned and Catelyn didn't speak to each other for a whole month. The servants had whispered amongst themselves Lady Stark was not pleased to have the bastard still in her home and argued about it with her husband, who refused to send him away. They were soon caught off guard, as well as Ned and his children, when his lady wife demanded him to have the boy legitimized and threatened to end their marriage right there and leave for Riverrun if he didn't do so. No one but Ned knew what had brought on the change of attitude in Catelyn and were completely surprised by it. Ned then sent a raven to the King, to have the boy legitimized, and within a month, the boy was no longer Jon Snow, but Jon Stark. But before anyone could say anything about it, the Greyjoy Rebellion occurred and the men rushed off to war, including Ned who parted on less desirable terms with his wife.

And as quickly as it started, it ended with Balon Greyjoy swearing fealty to Robert, and Ned taking his only living son Theon, with him back to Winterfell as his ward. When he returned, Catelyn and their children including Jon, whose relationship with Lady Stark improved, welcomed him with open arms and he and his wife reconciled shortly afterwards.

As the years passed by, Catelyn bared him two more sons and the Northmen were not spared from the disease that still raged on. Ned had received a raven from the Dreadfort, saying that his bannerman Roose Bolton and his bastard had succumbed to the disease. Then followed another raven shortly afterwards that a kennelmaster's daughter who was in love with Roose's bastard had been griefstricken by his death and ended up poisoning the guards as they were supping and torched the Dreadfort to the ground, killing everyone inside. Not long after that, it was discovered by some of Lord Stark's men who were sent to salvage what was left of the ruins that the Boltons had still continued practicing the tradition of flaying men alive, which had been outlawed by House Stark. Several smallfolk had come forward and revealed Roose's bastard had a tendency to hunt young girls with his lover and feed them to his hounds. What was more troubling of all, was that Roose had known about it, and allowed it to happen... while also conspiring to usurp House Stark for wardenship of the North. Ned realized that the old gods had removed a huge obstacle for him, and thanked them.

Ned then received another message from King's Landing, which announced the deaths of the king's family as well as that of the queen's brother, the Imp, which was soon followed by the death of the Old Lion himself. Ned could not help but feel relieved. After all, the man had presented the bodies of Princess Elia and her children, Jon's half-siblings, to Robert who gladly accepted their deaths, calling him _dragonspawn. _Ned heard that word every time he fell asleep, and had nightmares of Robert presenting Ned with Jon's corpse, to which Ned awakened immediately and was calmed by Catelyn. Still he also felt empathy in that moment for the Lannisters, even though he thought poorly of Ser Jaime. He reckoned it was mostly for Princess Myrcella's sake, after all she had lost her mother and both her brothers as well as her grandfather and an uncle, now she was left with a father who barely paid her any attention. He understood her loss well enough as he had also once lost most of his family, forcing him to become the Lord of Winterfell, a position that would have gone to his older brother Brandon.

Then came a message from the Wall informing Ned that Lord Commander Mormont, and his brother Benjen was named his replacement. Ned couldn't be proud of his brother, who had sought to make a name for himself when he volunteered to join the Night's Watch. Now their numbers were dwindling down, due to the fever as well as disappearances on rangings and being killed by wildlings. It was an urgent matter that Ned considered a top priority. Jon had heard about the situation at the Wall, and had offered to join if it were to help his uncle in any way. Ned had refused, stating it was too dangerous. Jon, who had been told about his true heritage by Ned and to keep the information to himself, snarkly told him it was also dangerous protecting your family when the king wanted them dead. Ned was so furious he scolded Jon and sent him to clean the stables for a week, but had been forced to admit Jon was right. He couldn't stay here in Winterfell long enough for Robert to find out about him, and even if he didn't, the Night's Watch needed more men, and Ned would prefer his nephew serve at the Wall under his uncle, than risk being a casaulty to Robert's wrath.

Most troubling of all were the rumors that spread of the chaos within the Capitol, most specifically that the Kingslayer had partook in an incestuous love affair with his twin sister, the late Queen, and that the royal children were all bastards spawned from their affair. Ned had remembered that Sansa had sobbed in grief at the news of Prince Joffrey's death, mourning the loss of "her beloved prince." Arya had rolled her eyes at that. Sansa was so depressed she skipped embroidery lessons with Septa Mordane, and had locked herself in her room, crying on her bed. When Ned and Catelyn had arrived to comfort Sansa by telling her that there will be plenty of men who would be a good husband to Sansa, Sansa had screamed and cried, saying "I don't want any good husband. I want Joffrey. I was supposed to be his Queen, and give him sons with beautiful blonde hair." Ned and Catelyn looked to each other in alarm. Ned had left Catelyn taking care of Sansa while he headed for his solar and asked for Maester Luwin to be brought in, as it was a matter of utmost importance. Maester Luwin had arrived shortly afterwards as well as Catelyn, who had left after Sansa had cried herself to sleep and was ordered not to be disturbed. Ned locked the solar, and had Maester Luwin read out the section for House Baratheon from a book he brought covering the lineages and histories of the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms, with descriptions of many high lords and noble ladies and their children. Ned and Catelyn's suspicions were proven as the Maester read through it and looked up at them in horror after finding every member of House Baratheon was dark-haired with the only three exceptions being the royal children.

They quickly dismissed the belief that the children only inherited the Lannister traits on their mother's side after revealing to Luwin about Jon's true identity and swearing him to secrecy. Soon they pondered on how to proceed with this information. Ned had considered sending a raven to them, only for Maester Luwin to present them a message from Jon Arryn newly arrived from King's Landing, saying that the King and his party were heading to Winterfell... and confessed that he knew about the affair but lied about it to the king to spare Princess Myrcella from any more suffering as she had lost her family done nothing wrong. Ned and Catelyn were then left in more shock that the man who had fostered him and trained him to do the right thing had asked him to lie now by maintaining this information a secret since it would bring about a war that would destroy so many lives.

Ned had shook his head in disbelief. This was so unlike Jon Arryn. He felt sorry for the princess, but it was the king's law and then he remembered his promise to Lyanna. He sighed and then told Luwin and Catelyn to prepare for the king's arrival, before being notified by Ser Rodrik that a deserter from the Night's Watch had been captured. He then summoned Robb, Jon and Theon to accompany him and Ser Rodrik. He decided to bring along Bran to see his first execution.

When they arrived at the block, where the other men were waiting along with the prisoner, who was spouting about having seen the White Walkers, Ned wondered if it was more madness brought on by the old gods. He would have to discuss it with Benjen the next time they met at King Robert's wedding to his second wife, Margaery Tyrell. Hopefully answers would be provided... or even more questions. Ned had saw the fear in the deserter's eyes as he told him to warn Westeros before it was too late. He was still troubled after he removed the deserter's head, but chose to hid it after Bran had asked if he was telling the truth.

They then had a discussion about their way being the old way, before Robb and Jon called them over, to where they had found the direwolf pups, surrounding their dead mother, who had a stag's antler in her throat, with the stag itself laying away a near distance. Ned did not believe in such superstition, but after everything that had happened that morning, he feared the gods were setting him up against his old friend.

Bran had adored the puppies and wanted to bring them home, however a direwolf was no mere pet, and Theon had nearly killed Bran's pup had it not been for the intervention of Jon, who argued that the direwolf was the sigil of House Stark, and the pups were meant for each of the Stark children. Bran and Ned were proud of Jon at that moment for very different reasons. Bran for Jon saving the pups, Ned for seeing Jon display such wisdom. He'd make an excellent king, if not for Robert, who had arrived just now.

Ned couldn't believe how fat his friend had become, as the king stepped off his horse and strode over to Ned.

"Your Grace," said Ned who bowed to Robert, along with all his household. Robert signaled for them to stand.

"You've gotten fat," said a straight-faced Robert.

The court remained silent. The king had lost his wife, and his sons who weren't really his, and had expected him to be mourning, so for him to act like his usual self did not surprise Ned, who knew him full well.

The two had then laughed and hugged each other.

"Nine years, where the hell were you?"

"Guarding the realm for you, Your Grace." Ned caught a quick glance at Jon, whose face showed a neutral expression, and noticed his hands were shaking slightly. He did not like what was happening at all. "Winterfell is yours."

Ned caught sight of Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer, now newly made Lord of Casterly Rock, as he dismounted his horse and made his way to escort Princess Myrcella out of the royal carriage, and his face turned into a serious expression. Robert didn't pay any attention to him, however as he was getting to know each of the Stark children. He was still angry that Jon Arryn had told him the truth yet to remain quiet about it. Now he imagined what his Jon felt like. Ned suddenly remembered and turned back to Robert as soon as he could, just as Robert stopped right in front of Jon.

And yet Robert didn't speak a word, as he had gazed upon Jon, which brought about a mix of emotions upon the king, who felt as if he knew Jon from somewhere, but couldn't quite place him.

Ned shared a look with Catelyn, and both knew the other was completely tense about Jon's first meeting with his birth father's killer, who demanded the deaths of his half-siblings. The whole court seemed to notice this strange silence, and wondered what was happening.

A few moments of silence followed before Robert finally spoke, "So you must be Ned's bastard, am I correct?"

"That is correct... your Grace."

Another moment of silence followed as they heard Jon say that last bit as an afterthought and Robert and Jon stared each other down for a few seconds before Robert laughed and said, "Of course, I had almost forgotten. You're not really a bastard anymore. You're a Stark now." Robert then took hold of Jon's shoulders. "Be proud of it, boy. And do your house proud."

"I will, your Grace," Jon said.

Robert nodded and then left the boy as he went back to Eddard. "Take me to your crypts. I wish to pay my respects before I meet my new bride."

"Your Grace," said the Kingslayer, who had approached with Princess Myrcella in tow. "Perhaps it would be best to have your daughter settled in first. After all, I've lost my sister, you've lost a wife, and her sons are dead. If anything has been proven by their deaths, life is short. It would be best to spend what little time left with your daughter."

Ned hated the Kingslayer for committing treason against both the kings he served, but had a good point, he'd been forced to admit.

"Do it yourself, Lannister!" Robert roared, startling everyone. "After all, you may just as well be her father, Kingslayer."

Jaime winced and glared at the man as he left with Ned, who shared one last look with the Kingslayer, who looked... remorseful, in a way. Ned may not have gotten along with the man, but even he was ashamed that the king chose to dishonor his late wife by tarnishing her memory for the ghost of a woman who never loved him. He looked to Jon, who had approached Jaime and the princess, and offered to settle them in. Jaime accepted and Jon looked to Ned, angry that Robert was king, and had humiliated what was left of his family to pay respects to Jon's late mother.

As they climbed down, Ned spoke.

"You shouldn't have done that, Your Grace."

"Oh, shut it, Ned. I have got enough on my mind, without having to wonder whether my late wife cuckolded me with her own blood and produced me _lionspawn_."

Ned winced.

"Do you believe the rumors, Your Grace?"

Robert sighed and Ned had never seen the man more vulnerable in his life. "I don't know what to believe anymore, Ned. Jon Arryn dismissed the rumors as well as the rest of the Small Council, but I know they've been lying to me about it. Even Jon. The man who raised us together and do what was right. The man I could always rely on for advice... has decided to lie to my face." Robert growled. "I swear if it is true, I'll smash my warhammer down upon every one of them, until Casterly Rock is nothing but ruins."

Ned realized that Jon Arryn did not just send that raven to him to lie to protect the Lannisters, but because it would hurt Robert even more than he already was.

"I need men on who I can truly rely upon, Ned. Men who won't hold the truth back from me, even while everyone is doing it. Men like you, Ned." Robert stopped and looked at Ned, who froze.

"Men like me, your Grace?"

"Yes, Ned, men like you. You may have set aside your marriage vows once and brought home a bastard, but there's a reason you are still called the most honorable man in the Seven Kingdoms. And believe me, King's Landing needs a change from all those backstabbers and flatterers at my side. Come to my wedding, Ned and I will show you how to smile again and have a good time. There we can find out the truth together, just like old times."

Ned nodded.

"If your sister had lived, we would have been bound by blood. Well, it's not too late. You have a son, I have a daughter... or so it seems. We'll join our Houses for the time being."

Ned was speechless. The implication that his heir would marry a Lannister bastard spawned from incest stirred mixed emotions within him. He didn't want that for Robb, but Jon Arryn took pity on the princess who had lost her family except for Ser Jaime and advised Ned to do the same. "I need to discuss this with my wife."

"Of course," Robert said.

They finally made their way to Lyanna's tomb.

"Did you have to bury her in such a place?" Robert sighed. "She should be on a hill somewhere with the sun and the clouds above her.

"She was my sister," Ned said. "This is where she belongs."

He could still hear her saying, _Promise__ me, Ned._

"She belonged with me," said Robert, who touched Lyanna's face and kissed her. "In my dreams, I still kill _him_ every night for what he did to her."

There was no question as to who Robert meant.

"It's done, your Grace. The Targaryens are gone."

"Not all of them," Robert growled. "Viserys Targaryen may be gone thanks to the same thing that took my wife and her boys, but Daenerys Targaryen still lives, the Others take her. And worse, she is betrothed to some Dothraki khal, and plans on getting married soon as to not compete with _my wedding_."

Ned wanted to point out that Robert was competing with her, but didn't say anything as it would be a waste of words. Worse, it would anger Robert even more and he needed to be otherwise.

"Do you plan on sending her a wedding gift?"

"I should. A knife perhaps, a good sharp one, and a bold man to wield it."

"She is just a child, Robert."

"Not this again," said Robert who shook his head. "Have you already forgotten what her father did to your family? What _Rhaegar_ did to _your sister_? I will kill every Targaryen and incest-bred spawn I can get my hands on?"

"But you can't get your hands on this one, can you?"

"This Khal Drogo is said to have at least at least 100,000 men in his khalasar."

"Even a million Dothraki are no threat to the realm, as long as they remain on the other side of the Narrow Sea. They have no ships, Robert."

"There are still those in the Seven Kingdoms who call me Usurper," Robert said. "They claim the gods paid me back for destroying their line and there are currently riots in the city still happening because of the Mountain's actions. I've been forced to give him over to the Martells, and the Hound volunteered himself to be his royal escort while also naming himself his brother's executioner." Ned had known about the Clegane brothers' history, and was surprised to hear about this, since he argued with Robert who refused to hand him over. To find out justice for Princess Elia and her children was finally happening, Ned felt a tremendous amount of relief. "But that is besides the point. If the Targaryen girl crosses with a Dothraki horde at her back, the scum will join her."

"She will not cross," Ned said. "Her mind is overwhelmed with grief at her brother's death. Even more, there are many in Westeros who will question her claim and not want to be ruled by a woman. Your kingdom is safe."

"For now."

"Robert, what do you have to lose?"

"_Everything_, Ned. I have everything to lose while the Targaryen girl has _nothing_ to lose now except her life, and that's what makes her dangerous. The Spider has also informed me she has already made plans to take back the throne and go through with her wedding to Khal Drogo, calling herself Westeros' _rightful Queen_. What then, Ned?"

Ned gulped before proceeding carefully. "If by chance she does, we'll throw her armies back into the sea."

"And her along with it."

"Robert--"

"I don't want to hear anymore about it, but mark my words, Ned. There's a war coming. I don't know when, I don't know who, but it's coming."

Robert then left Ned alone his thoughts and as he looked up at Lyanna's statue, he soon feared of what was to come, besides winter itself.

**A/N**: And there you have it. Poor Ned's got a right to be worried with everything being thrown at him. Having to keep secrets from his best friend, the king who is starting to suspect the truth about Myrcella who is now betrothed to Robb "for the time being", then to top it off, Jon knows the truth about his mother while his aunt Daenerys is just beginning to follow in her family's footsteps and Robert wants to go off to war after his wedding to Margaery. And last but not least, _winter is coming. _Makes you wonder how long the Starks will last in the game of thrones this time around. Can they survive? Or will winter finally overtake them and all of Westeros as we know it? What do you think? Anyways, please review and follow if you haven't already. Until then, see you next time.


	5. Daenerys I

Chapter 4:

**DAENERYS**

Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo had gotten married under the open sky, as all Dothraki believed all things important in a man's life had to be done beneath it, and the whole khalasar celebrated wildly. The newly proclaimed rightful queen of Westeros had looked stricken at all the fighting and fornication happening around her, which only seemed to intensify as two men argued over a woman each man was trying to force himself on before they drew out their arakhs and began to fight each other to the death. Daenerys had been watching the scene in slight fear before she heard her husband greet a man dressed in Westerosi garb, who had approached them carrying books.

"A small gift for you, Your Grace," said the man who knelt. "Songs and histories from the Seven Kingdoms."

"Thank you, Ser..."

The man stood up. "Mormont. Ser Jorah Mormont of Bear Island, Your Grace. I served your father for many years and now I hope to serve my rightful queen, may the gods be good."

Before she could thank the man again and accept his oath of loyalty, Illyrio approached them with two servants who presented her with a chest which contained three huge eggs inside.

"Dragon eggs, Your Grace. From the shadow lands of Asshai. The ages may have turned them into stone, but they will always be beautiful." Daenerys looked to Illyrio in shock. Viserys had told her stories about the dragons their ancestors once rode before they all died off, and now here she was with three of them.

"Thank you, Magister."

Illyrio nodded as Khal Drogo stood up andstrode forward. Illyrio motioned for her to follow him so she did. The Dothraki made way for her as she followed her husband who stopped next to a beautiful, white mare. She looked to Illyrio as she did not know how to say "Thank you" in Dothraki, of which she was told there wasn't any. She was lifted onto her new mare by her husband, who got on his own horse as the two proceeded to leave the rest of the Khalasar as the sun began to ser. They stopped off at a grassy place by a small stream.

As Drogo began to remove her dress, Daenerys did not cry. For she had already lost her family thanks to the Usurper and his dogs. She was not willing to lose her life. _I will not be afraid_, she told herself. _Not this time._ _For__ I am blood of the dragon_._ I am Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone, of the blood and seed of Aegon the Conqueror. And I will take what is rightfully mine. With fire and blood._

As the tears fell from her eyes, Khal Drogo caressed her face and wiped them off.

"No," he said.

"Do you know the Common Tongue?"

"No."

He took her dress off completely and attempted to bend her down, but she stopped him and proceeded to get on top of him.

"No," she said. "Tonight I shall look upon your face." For she learned from her lessons with Doreah that it was better to always look into a man's eyes to get them to fall in love easier. And Daenerys Targaryen was determined to please her husband as best she could, while trying to survive in the dangerous game of thrones.

**A/N**: And another chapter is complete, as Daenerys is determined not to share her family's fate, while getting Drogo to fall in love with her at the same time. I apologize for this being the shortest chapter as of this moment, hopefully the next one will be more longer than the last. Next time, we will be dropping in on the king's feast at Winterfell, and see how things are going through the eyes of Jaime as he is on uneasy ground right now with the Starks knowing his secret, and Robert is suspicious as well. The question is will his secret come to light sooner or later? Oh, and Benjen will be showing up as well to discuss the state of the Night's Watch, so we have that to look forward to. Alright, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until then, I'll see you next time.


	6. Jaime I

Chapter 5:

**JAIME**

As he watched King Robert feeling up some kitchen wench at the banquet the Starks were hosting right now, Lord Jaime Lannister did not hold back the disgust on his face. He had no shred of respect for the man at this point. How could he, Jaime thought. The man had humiliated his sister on their wedding night by calling her the name of his late love, and now the man seemed to have forgotten his widowed status, and was soon to be married again.

Jaime had wanted to stab his sword into Robert's back like he once did Aerys, but that was under different circumstances. For one thing, Aerys was a madman who sought to destroy an entire city full of people, while Robert seemed to get under Jaime's skin no matter what he did. But Jaime stood firm, after all he took his late father's advice to heart. "Lannisters don't act like fools."

Jaime remembered how he had jumped off the cliffs of Casterly Rock into the cool water below, and how Cersei ended up telling their father, who glared coldly at Jaime, who shivered and knew it was not from the water. He was soon chastised by his father, who ordered his supper to be delivered to his rooms. His father had tried to shape him and teach him to become the next Lord of Casterly Rock, but Jaime did not share his father's desire.

Oh, how he wished he had done things differently with his family. He missed them so much, especially Tyrion. He regretted how their last conversation went down. _It should have been you..._Jaime's tears streamed down his face. Yes, it should have been him. After all, Jaime was not innocent and he knew it. He stood by and let his father and sister treat Tyrion like he was an outcast his whole life and he partook in an incestuous love affair with his sister which resulted in three children passed off as the king's heira, which would bring shame and dishonor upon their House for generations to come if it were ever discovered.

His father had always done things for _the family's_ sake. And he would've been ashamed of his children if he found out. But now, they were all gone, taken by this disease which had destroyed many lives across Westeros and now, Essos, as well where the Beggar Prince had died, and his sister was being proclaimed _Westeros' rightful queen_.

Jaime had remembered Cersei's prophecy about the younger queen beautiful than his sister, who would take everything his sister held dear. At first, Jaime thought it was Margaery Tyrell, after all she was replacing Cersei as Robert's wife, but then the news of Viserys' death took him by surprise, leaving his young sister defenseless and willing to survive by marrying a Dothraki horselord for protection. He was completely certain that she was the queen mentioned in his sister's prophecy, as Robert asked for his help in destroyimg the last of the Targaryens and then came the added surprise of Jon Arryn not disclosing the information he knew about Jaime and Cersei, for Myrcella's sake. Jaime made a promise to himself to protect Myrcella, after all she was the last reminder he had of Cersei, and if Daenerys Targaryen or anyone else wished to harm Myrcella, Jaime would kill them first before seeing that happen.

He looked to Myrcella, who was engaging in a conversation right now with the eldest Stark daughter, who would've been betrothed to Joffrey, if he were alive. Jaime knew she wouldn't have lasted long under Joffrey's oppression and thanked the gods that wasn't so, yet now he wondered how long Myrcella's betrothal to Ned Stark's heir would last. Jaime had known about Robert's desire to bridge his and Ned Stark's Houses in marriage, yet with the deaths of Joffrey and Tommen, and the ongoing _rumors _about him and Cersei, now Robert had one child left to bridge the gap, or so he thought. Jaime was taken aback by Robert's behavior earlier and he was absolutely sure Robert would have put that on hold permanently and find another way to bridge that gap, while putting him and Myrcella on the chopping block or at the end of Robert's warhammer, had it not been for Jon Arryn's intervention.

Still though, Jaime had noticed the mocking looks from those in attendance at the banquet, but he forced himself to pay them no mind. And he was doing well at it, until he heard Myrcella scream. When he looked in her direction, Ned Stark's heir and legitimized bastard were by her and the Stark girl's side looking down upon the ward, Balon Greyjoy's only surviving son, who looked up at them in shock and contempt.

"What in the Seven Hells is going on here?!?" Robert's voice thundered like a storm in rage, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Nothing, Your Grace," the Greyjoy lad said, rather quickly.

"Nothing? Really? Then how come you're on the floor, rubbing your face?"

The lad froze, while Robert removed his hand from his face to unveil blood at the corner of his lip.

"You care to explain this, then?"

The lad said nothing. Before Robert could speak, Ned Stark arrived by his side and his face was in shock at the scene, before it disappeared and he turned to his two sons.

"What happened here?" Ned said. When neither boy responded, he added. "It's alright, boys. You won't be in trouble."

It was the bastard who spoke up first.

"Robb and I were discussing his betrothal to Princess Myrcella, until Theon got drunk with too much wine and said..." he seemed to hesitate.

"What did he say, lad?" said Robert.

Jon looked to him, and Jaime noticed the cold expression on his face, like the one from earlier this afternoon when he first encountered the king, which had put everyone at unease. Jaime looked upon his face, and seemed to feel a recognition of some sort, before the boy continued.

"He said it was a shame we were betrothing Robb to a Lannister bastard and not to someone like me," he said, drawing gasps from the crowd but he didn't stop there. "He then got up and moved to the princess' table and attempted to take advantage of her, as he had 'never fucked a royal bastard before.' " That last statement drew even more gasps, and Jaime had never felt such boiling anger before in his life. How dare this filthy Ironborn try forcing himself on to sweet Myrcella? Oh, he'll regret his decision, Jaime thought. After all, a Lannister always pays his debts.

"He said that?!?" Robert roared, before glaring down mightily at Theon, who squirmed. "So which one of you lads do I have to thank for showing this Ironborn a lesson in manners?"

"That would be me, Your Grace."

Robert lifted his head up and then crossed his eyes again with Jon, who held the same cold expression when speaking with him, but not as before. They stared each other down for a bit, making everyone uncomfortable again, before Robert spoke.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Jon, Your Grace. Jon Stark."

They stared at each other again, and Jaime wondered what in the Seven Hells was happening right now. He then looked to Ned Stark, who looked on in worry and genuine concern, as did his wife, which raised even more questions for Jaime. He had heard she made the lad feel unwelcome in his home before he got the fever and how she had prayed to the gods for his recovery, with the promise she would act like a mother to him, which she kept. Then there was the fact she and Ned Stark hadn't spoken to each other for a month until she demanded the boy to be legitimized and then he left for Pyke to fight off the Greyjoys. There was more to that story than they had let on, what happened Jaime was unsure of at this point, but sooner or later, he would find out. For now he would just wait to see what would happen between Robert and the boy, who were still staring at each other, leaving everyone in suspense, until the king spoke.

"Well, Jon Stark. As your King, I thank you... for saving my daughter's life."

He took his hand out. Jon stared at Robert for a while, before he accepted it and shook it. They stood silent, as did everyone else, before the king turned to the crowd.

"And as for everyone else in this room," said Robert who glared at Theon mightily. "I would like to address these false and absolutely disgusting rumors you have all heard. My Hand Jon Arryn himself has looked into this and found that these rumors are all lies! I do not know who has decided to make a mockery out of my loss but I say this, if I hear anyone calling my daughter a bastard produced out of an incestous affair between my Queen and her brother, the Kingslayer, you will face the king's justice." He turned to the crowd who stood silent. "Then let's enjoy the rest of the banquet."

Everyone continued talking amongst themselves as if nothing had happened. Robert glared at Jaime before he went to fondle another wench. Jaime stood there and went over to Myrcella.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, Uncle Jaime. If it weren't for Jon and Robb, I don't know what would have happened."

Jaime turned to the Stark boys. Jon's face was neutral as always which was unsettling in itself, while Jaime saw Robb was looking upon Myrcella with genuine concern, while she looked upon him shyly. Jaime did not like that look one bit. He was happy for Myrcella, but he also needed to have a talk with the lad.

"It looks like I'll have to thank you lads," Jaime said. "For protecting my niece, the last reminder I have of my sister."

"It was nothing, Lord Jaime," said Jon. "We were just doing what our father taught us since we were children."

Jaime nodded reluctantly. "Still though, I cannot thank you enough."

"Who would make such awful rumors over Princess Myrcella?" said the eldest Stark daughter, who was being held by her mother.

"Someone who means to wish ill upon her family," Lady Stark said rather quickly before hugging her daughter even more, but not before glaring at Jaime, who had decided to leave them be, but ended up bumping into Ned Stark himself.

"Pardon," Jaime said.

"Your pardon," Ned said.

Jaime attempted to move, but Ned stopped him.

"Is there something I can help you with, Lord Stark?" Jaime asked irritably.

"I never expressed my condolences for your and Princess Myrcella's loss," Ned said.

Jaime was taken aback. He had assumed Ned Stark would've also told him his family's deaths were punishment from the gods for their ways... and him breaking his oaths killing the Mad King. It still infuriated Jaime how Ned Stark just jumped to assumptions and judged him guilty, but he didn't mention that to Ned.

Jaime nodded in acceptance. "I hear we might be family soon."

"So it would seem," said Ned who looked to Myrcella who exchanged a small smile with Robb. Jaime noticed them as well and leaned into Ned's ear.

"Just so you know, she deserves some happiness for once in her life," whispered Jaime. "Myrcella not only lost her mother and brothers that day, but she's been subjected to complete mockery and humiliation with these filthy rumors, and I do not like when someone hurts the only family I have left like that."

"I understand," Ned said.

"Then also understand that if your son hurts my niece in any way," Jaime said silently. "I will not hesitate to raise my banners against him."

Ned's face turned serious. "I raised my children to be better than that, Lord Jaime. You can't say the same for your House."

Jaime knew Ned Stark would bring his family up, and under different circumstances, would have broken the man's nose and drawn his sword breaking guest rights, but now he kept calm and just shrugged.

"My apologies then, Lord Stark," said Jaime. "I did not mean to insult you or your kin." He sighed. "It's just that it wouldn't be the first time that a Baratheon got their heart broken by a Stark."

Ned's eyes widened. His eyes turned to Jon for a moment, but Jaime didn't miss that look before Stark turned back to Jaime and nodded in understanding. "Of course. I assure you nothing like that will ever happen to the Princess."

"No... it won't," said Jaime, who then looked around. "I take it you will have your ward punished for that display he just did?"

"Of course," Ned said. "You have nothing to worry about, Lord Jaime. You have my word."

"Yes, so it seems," Ser Jaime said. "Enjoy the rest of the banquet, Lord Stark. I'm afraid I must retire to my chambers."

Jaime parted ways with Ned, but not before he kissed Myrcella on the forehead, and left for his rooms with a smug smile on his face. _So, _Jaime thought. _It__ seems like I'm not the only one keeping secrets from our king._ _Tomorrow__... I shall find out how I'll proceed with this information._


	7. Eddard II, Arya I

Chapter 6:

**EDDARD**

It was an awfully tense morning at Winterfell after the king's feast and everyone did not seem to forget the events that occurred last night. That left Ned worried. There was a saying here in the North, and that was "_the North remembers"__._ The last time it was used was when Ned's father and older brother died by the Mad King's hand. Ned had called his banners as the new Lord of Winterfell alongside Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn to depose Aerys from the Iron Throne, and now it looked as though the King and his party did not forget the slight given to them by Ned's ward at a feast in their honor.

Ned shook his head at the way Theon behaved, bringing shame and dishonor upon their household with his drunken antics by fondling and insulting a member of the royal party. He had chastised Theon, who had explained that he wasn't trying to force himself on the princess as Jon said, but had tried kissing her on the cheek to welcome her into the Stark family, and slipped due to drunken imbalance, resulting in him kissing Princess Myrcella on the lips and grabbing her breast, which led to Jon pulling him off her and punching him. When asked about his crude comment on never having... sexual relations with a royal bastard, Theon responded by saying it was a slight comment in a casual conversation he was having with Robb and Jon. It took every ounce of dignity and honor within Ned's being to not wanting to punch Theon himself for being so careless and insulting their guests. Technically Theon's comment about the princess' status wasn't a lie, but Jon Arryn warned him in the letter to not act on this information lest he would incur Robert's wrath, and Ned knew he did not wish to do so, after having lied to protect Lyanna's son hidden from getting killed along with his true siblings. Now it seemed like the truth was getting closer to being uncovered.

The entire household had been left holding their breaths at the staredowns between the king and the bastard of Winterfell, but only a few of them knew how truly damaging the confrontation could be if the king found out Jon was really the offspring of the woman he loved with his most hated enemy. Jon had asked Ned before the king's arrival if he could join the Night's Watch and serve alongside Uncle Benjen, who had arrived at the feast from the Wall just in time to watch the whole spectacle Theon had made.

When he asked Jon why he really wanted to join, he stated the Night's Watch needed the men... and that he did not wish to put his family at risk in case his secret was ever found out. Ned had hugged Jon and gently brushed off his fears, feeling everything would be alright, but with Jon's first meeting with Robert, they returned back to the surface and Ned was compelled to send Jon off to the Wall with Benjen to escape Robert's wrath. Of course, that didn't mean he or the rest of the family agreed with Jon's decision. Robb, Bran, Arya, and even Catelyn tried convincing him to stay, but Jon insisted it was for the best.

Ned sighed in defeat. It was noble of Jon to volunteer joining a cause which was dying in numbers, however that didn't stop Ned from worrying about his safety. After his talk with Jaime Lannister, Benjen had approached Ned, who congratulated him on his new position and asked him about the deserter. That was when Benjen told him that the Night's Watch were capturing more and morewildlings fleeing south every month than ever before, all of them having claimed they had seen the White Walkers. Ned had tried to dismiss the claim, but Benjen reminded him of their House words: _Winter is Coming _and told him that Maester Aemon, one of Jon's few relatives left alive, said the Citadel reported this summer, which had lasted nine years, was coming to an end and the upcoming winter will be even longer. They needed to convince the King to send more men to the Wall for whatever was coming.

Ned had urged an audience with Robert for his brother, and the king agreed, while deciding to have one last hunt before they left for King's Landing the next morning. Rodrik, Jory, and the two Kingsguard that were with Robert decided to accompany them on the hunt, while Jaime Lannister decided to stay behind to have a spar with Ned's sons. That itself was an unusual request from the Kingslayer, who explained he was looking to make one of them his squire, which was even more confusing to Ned. After all the Starks and Lannisters did not see things eye to eye, not to mention the fact Jaime never took a squire before in his life. Choosing to find one now and among Ned's sons raised many questions for him but before he could ask Jaime, Robert called Ned over before he could do so. When he finally caught up to Robert and the others who had all dismounted from their horses, the king gave a hearty laugh.

"Ahh," he said. "Nothing more wonderful than having a hunt the day before we return to King's Landing for my wedding."

Ned looked over to Benjen who nodded in response and approached the king.

"Your Grace," said Benjen.

"There you are, Benjen," said Robert who went forward and gave Benjen a bear hug, nearly causing him to lose the air inside him. "I must congratulate you on your new position as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. It's a shame about old Mormont, but I know that you will do a fine job. After all, your brother Ned here is known as the most honorable man in all the Seven Kingdoms, you Starks aren't so different from each other."

"Thank you, your Grace."

"Please, just call me Robert. It's only my men who call me Your Grace."

"If you say so, your Grace."

"He's so much like you, Ned," Robert sighed. "Too honorable for his own good yet he shows respect to his king nonetheless."

Ned fought back a smile. "It is how we Starks were raised, Your Grace."

"Yes, of course," Robert said. "I have no doubt the next generation of Starks will be raised the same way." He then paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Even that bastard of yours, especially the way he put that Greyjoy ward of yours in place for trying to force himself upon my daughter."

"I've already spoken to the Greyjoy lad," Ned said. "He says that he wasn't trying to force himself upon the Princess and that he apologizes for the slight misunderstanding due to his drunkenness."

"Well," said Robert. "I can understand his reasoning. I've gotten into many drunken brawls too many times, but not one of them involved forcing myself upon a woman who didn't want my seed inside her!"

Everyone winced at the way Robert growled out the last few words, but Ned calmly spoke up. "I have already seen to it that Theon is to avoid any further contact with Princess Myrcella, and is to have his supper in his rooms until Robb and Myrcella's wedding."

"Good," Robert said. "If it were my ward, I'd have punished him as I did Joffrey." He paused. "Gods... sometimes I miss that boy. I admit I might not have been the best father... or husband in that matter. If the rumors about my late Queen are true..."

He broke off, before Benjen cleared his throat.

"Your Grace," Benjen said. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to discuss the state of the Night's Watch."

"Of course," Robert said. "I had forgotten that you wanted to speak with me about that. Well, let's get on with it."

"The Night's Watch is in great need, Your Grace," said Benjen. "It now stands with less than a thousand men at its service. Six hundred at Castle Black, two hundred at the Shadow Tower, even fewer at Eastwatch, and a third of them fighting men. The Wall may be a hundred leagues long, Your Grace, but should an attack come, I have three men to defend each mile of it."

"An attack from whom?" said Robert. "The wildlings? They've been crossing the Wall for ages and if they think of crossing again, I'll smash my warhammer into each and every one of them I get my hands on. We'll fight them back and remind them to never cross again."

The two Kingsguard, Ser Meryn Trant and Ser Boros Blount each gave a "hear, hear" to their king.

"It may not be the wildlings that may attack us next time, Your Grace," Benjen said. "But something far worse."

"And what could be worse than the wildlings?"

"The White Walkers."

Everything seemed to come to a stop as the Kingsguard froze and Robert just stood there looking at Benjen... before he broke out in laughter along with his men. Ned and Benjen were the only ones who weren't.

"Oh, Benjen," Robert said with a few tears coming from his eyes. "You really got me there. You Starks don't seem to be the type to make jests, but I guess I was wrong."

"It's not a jest, Your Grace," Benjen said with enough seriousness to make the king and his men aware. "And neither is the Night's Watch. We are not simply an army of jesters in black for your amusement, although I do hope we've provided you with some good stories to tell when you're back in King's Landing. But I have something for you and your men to think about while you're drinking your wine and visiting your brothels down there. Half the men you send us will die north of the Wall. Might be a wilding's axe that gets them, it might be sickness, might just be the cold. They die in pain. And they do it so plump little lords... and kings like yourself can enjoy their summer afternoons in peace and comfort. But make no mistake, like all good things summer must end. And when winter does come, may the gods help us all if we're not ready."

Everyone seemed to be deadly quiet for a moment before Robert recomposed himself and spoke up.

"Listen, Benjen," Robert said. "I'm not sure what I've done to offend you. I have great admiration for the Night's Watch. I've had great admiration for you as First Ranger and I wish you well in your new position, but there is NO WAY you're going to make me believe that giants and ghouls and White Walkers are lurking beyond the Wall. It's nothing but a bunch of old mummer's tales that were used to frighten us when we were children. I believe that the only difference between us and the wildlings is that when the Wall went up, our ancestors happened to live on the right side of it."

"You're right, Your Grace," Benjen said calmly. "The wildlings are no different from us. A little rougher maybe. But they're made of meat and bone as the rest of us. I know how to track them and I know how to kill them, but it's not the wildlings that are giving me sleepless nights these days. You've never been north of the Wall, so don't you ever tell me what's out there." He then paused and stood looking into the woods. "When I was a boy growing up here, Your Grace, my brother Ned told me that a long summer usually meant an even longer winter."

"We've heard the same," Robert grumbled. "What about it?"

Benjen acted as he did not hear Robert's tone. "This summer has lasted nine years... ten if we're lucky enough, but make no mistake, Your Grace. The days are already growing shorter. Maester Aemon has had letters from the Citadel, their findings similar to his own. The end of summer is staring at us in the face. I'm telling you, Your Grace, the darkness is coming. Denys Mallister has written the mountain tribes are moving south in numbers greater than ever before. They are running... from what we do not know, but I can only imagine."

"I believe I've had enough of your imagination," Robert said before turning to Ned. "Ned, please talk some sense into your brother. His time at the Wall must have made him delusional enough to be called a madman."

Ned hesitated and looked to Benjen, whose face took a serious look before sighing and turning back to Robert. "I know my brother well enough, Your Grace. I admit I was skeptical at first, when I had captured a deserter claiming the White Walkers had killed his companions, up to the point where I removed his head off his body. I may not have seen what he has, but I've never known my brother to lie about such things. If he says the White Walkers are beyond the Wall, then they are beyond the Wall, Robert."

Robert growled.

"This is madness, Ned! Madness that I've never thought you of all people would believe."

"Perhaps I have gone mad," Ned said. "But when have you ever known me to lie before, Your Grace?"

Robert looked at Ned and regarded him closely, before sighing and hugging him.

"I'm sorry, Ned. I know you wouldn't lie to me over such a thing, no matter how mad it may sound like. Perhaps it's just listening to those disgusting rumors of my late wife fucking her brother, the Kingslayer, that's got me all riled up. I suppose next, someone will say that dragons have returned."

"I wouldn't say that would be impossible, Yoir Grace," Ned said. "After all, I would never have thought to have seen a direwolf before in my life, but now my six children each have a direwolf by their side."

"I've seen them. They're all getting bigger, especially your bastard's wolf." Robert paused and looked to Ned. "I believe you told me his mother's name once. What was it again? Aleena? No. Meryl?"

"Wylla."

"That's the one," Robert said. "She must have been a rare wench to make Lord Eddard Stark forget his honor. You never told me what she looked like."

Ned quickly looked to Benjen for a moment, before looking to the King. "Nor will I."

The King nodded once. "My apologies, Ned, I don't mean to intrude. After all, we were at war. None of us knew if we were gonna go back home again. You're being too hard on yourself. You always have been. I swear if I weren't your King, you'd have hit me already."

"The worst thing about your coronation..." Ned said. "I'll never get to hit you again."

"Trust me, that's not the worst thing. With all this talk of the White Walkers and grumpkins and snarks, may the gods help us."

"And may they help us even more when the Long Night returns, Your Grace," Benjen said. "You may not believe in such things just yet, but there is a reason why our House words are 'winter is coming.' I only hope that we are ready before it comes, with all along with it."

Robert looked to Benjen, and then to Ned then back again before sighing. "I'll see what I can do, Lord Commander," he said. "But you'll have more difficulties trying to convince the other Lords and Ladies of this." Benjen nodded before the king continued in a jovial manner. "Now let's continue on with the hunt. I'm dying to get me some boar and bring it back for everyone to feast upon."

The king moved forward along with his men, leaving Ned and Benjen alone.

"I'd say that went well," Ned said.

"Let's hope so," Benjen said. "After all, your _friend_ is known to first concern about pleasuring himself first before seeing to the rest of the Seven Kingdoms." He then paused before continuing. "Do you think he knows?"

"I do not think so," Ned said. "If Robert knew, we'd all be dead by now. But I have a feeling that he may begin to suspect. Either way, we must be careful."

**ARYA**

_It's not fair_, Arya thought as she made her way to the window in the covered bridge where she had a view of the whole yard watching her brothers spar.

She had just left needlework with her sister, Septa Mordane, and the princess early after the septa had disapproved of her stitchings. It was all Sansa's fault. After all, she had offered Princess Myrcella help on making her wedding dress now that they were going to be good-sisters, then asked questions on what King's Landing was like, what she liked to do, and finally what Prince Joffrey had actually been like in life.

Arya rolled her eyes at that. It seemed like there was never a time where Sansa cried or thought about the late prince. Sansa had been so disinterested in needlework during the first few weeks after the prince's death had been known throughout Winterfell, Arya was so happy when Septa Mordane decided to postpone needlework until Sansa felt better and... Arya improved upon her needlework. Unfortunately it still hadn't improved one bit... mostly because Arya was more interested on wanting to learn how to fight with swords like her brothers.

Growing up, Arya had been told by her mother and the Septa it was unladylike for her to be involved in such a thing, while her father did not approve of her behavior, but neither did he discourage it. She had tried approaching Robb and Bran with her, but they told her the same thing. Arya almost felt upon giving up until her half-brother Jon approached and offered to secretly train her and offer her advice on swordsmanship. She was happy of the fact that he had been legitimized by the king, and was later surprised finding out that her mother had talked her father into it, considering how she treated Jon earlier.

When Arya asked her mother what had changed her mind about Jon, she said it was the fever still happening in Westeros, that taught her life was too short to hold grudges and she had made a promise to the gods to love Jon. Arya felt there was more her mother was not telling her or her siblings, but she had just left it at that. Not that Arya didn't mind, knowing that her mother, when given time, would explain things later, for she enjoyed spending time with her half-brother, who she preferred most amongst all her siblings. He was the only one who didn't hold her back from holding a sword. Their lord father had found out about it later on, but didn't reprimand them, rather he allowed them to continue to train together without informing her mother. Yet now it seemed as if no matter how happy they were, Jon still wished to join the Night's Watch and serve under their uncle Benjen, who was recently named as Lord Commander after the old one had died. Arya didn't understand why Jon would want to leave, and asked him to stay but he said it was for the best.

Arya had run away from Jon, with tears watering in her eyes, and hadn't spoken to him since he announced his intentions to take the black. And there she sat miserably, trying to salvage her needlework, until Septa Mordane came over and said it would not do at all. Arya then stood up and was about to leave when Septa Mordane stopped her and asked where she was going. Arya merely stated she needed to shoe a horse, leaving everyone in shock. Septa Mordane reprimanded her saying, "Have you no shame, child, being rude in front of our guests?! I will inform your lady mother about this." Arya left the room with Septa Mordane screaming, "You'll shame us all!"

_Like I even care__, _Arya thought, her eyes now running halfway down her face. She then saw Nymeria waiting for her at the base of the stairs, and ran down quickly to hold her. The wolf seemed to notice Arya's state as it licked her tears away, which only caused Arya to hug Nymeria even more. It seemed as if the wolf still loved Arya, even when everyone else had left her. She sighed, before scratching Nymeria's head, which caused the wolf to lick her face.

"Just you and me, girl," Arya said sadly, before getting up and deciding where to go next, knowing she couldn't go to her room without her Septa informing her mother. She then heard the servants saying that Ser Jaime Lannister, now Lord of Casterly Rock after his family had died, had not gone with her father and the king on the hunt, and decided to have a spar with Lord Stark's sons in the courtyard in hopes of making one of them his squire. It was known that the Kingslayer was one of the best swordsmen throughout the Seven Kingdoms, following closely behind Barristan the Bold, and knowing that Bran wanted to become a knight when he was older, she wanted to see how her brothers would fare.

As they arrived, they found Jon seated on the sill, watching the action down below until Ghost moved to meet them. Jon turned around and locked eyes with Arya. They stood there, regarding each other until a groan came from below as Ser Jaime had tripped Theon over his feet into the dirt below, causing the men of Winterfell and the Lannister men to laugh alike. Theon just scowled and proceeded to get up and attack the Kingslayer once more until Ser Rodrik said, "That's enough! Greyjoy, get some rest."

"Did you not see what he did there?" Theon argued.

"I saw well enough," Ser Rodrik said. "You must know by now that your enemies will not be fair when it comes to battle."

"I can already see that," Theon scoffed. "It seems _Lord Jaime _here has a notion of being unfair in battle. After all he's well known for stabbing the Mad King in the back... among other things."

The Lannister men sneered at Theon for mocking their lord, while Ser Jaime narrowed his eyes at him.

"And just what is that supposed to mean, Greyjoy?" said Jaime.

"It means that I should have expected you to be a little dishonorable, when it came to sparring with me, that's all," said Theon.

"Are you sure you didn't mean to say anything else?" said Jaime.

Theon winced, but shook his head. "No, what else would I have to say?"

"You know well what I mean," said Jaime.

"In your dreams, Kingslayer," said Theon. "I was drunk last night, in case you didn't remember, and I apologized for the way I acted around the Princess to our king."

"But not to me."

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, after all a Lannister always--"

"--pay their debts," Theon finished. "We all know that saying. The question is though, are you or any of your men still willing to soil what little honor you have left?."

Everyone in the courtyard who heard Theon's comment gasped and hissed at him, while Robb grabbed Theon's shoulder.

"Theon!" Ser Rodrik bellowed out. "I'd have thought you'd have known better than that considering the events of last night, but I can see I was wrong. Now go before I suggest that Lord Stark give you more work to do around here."

Robb let go of Theon, who nodded quickly at Ser Rodrik as he hastily left while Jaime glared at him. Robb shook his head, as did Jon who muttered, "Idiot."

"He was telling the truth, though, was he not?" said Arya.

Jon looked to Arya, who gave him a knowing look.

"He might have been," said Jon. "But these are dangerous times to speak a truth no one wants to believe in just yet, until there is actual evidence to support this claim."

Arya just nodded her head, as she looked back down on the training yard. Robb was the next one to enter the ring, but even he did not seem to match up against the Kingslayer's skills as Jaime disarmed him within a matter of seconds. Ser Rodrik was about to end the match for the day, but Ser Jaime noticed Jon sitting on the sill and called, "Hey! You up there!"

Everyone started at that and looked up at Jon and Arya in the window. Arya looked over to Jon, who locked eyes with Jaime.

"Yes, you!" Jaime called. "I like to see how your skills fare against mine." Before Jon could speak up, Jaime said, "Or are you afraid of your status as a bastard that you are unworthy of someone like me?" The Lannister men laughed at that, which just infuriated Arya even more. Yes, she might have been angry with Jon at the moment, but the Kingslayer absolutely had no right to look down upon him. "In case you must know, you're no longer a bastard anymore. King Robert saw to that when he legitimized you, and second, it'd be my honor to spar against you."

Arya could tell Jon wanted to make a retort, questioning Lord Jaime's honor, but Arya put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You can do it, Jon."

Jon looked to Arya, who nodded back. He then got up from the sill and then proceeded downwards to meet the Kingslayer in combat, while he heard the shouts of Robb and the Northmen cheering him on. Jon looked to Jaime, who gazed upon him with a look of... recognition and smiled at him, not a mocking smile like the one that he gave Theon earlier, more of a genuine smile, as Ser Rodrik explained the instructions and both of them had their sparring swords at the ready.

When Ser Rodrik gave the signal to start the spar, both Jon and the Kingslayer dropped into a stance, quietly observing each other. They then circled each other, almost appearing like reflections in a mirror, and Arya saw the neutral expression on her brother's face that he made. There she realized that things were about to get interesting as Jaime approached, his sword raised to strike Jon, who parried and went on the defensive, blocking his strikes. She could see the Kingslayer's lips twitching upward as he did so.

_He's testing Jon_, Arya realized as Robb, Theon and the others were cheering Jon even further as he dodged a blow from the Kingslayer, who then proceeded to try pushing Jon back into a corner of the ring. Luckily, her brother foresaw his opponent's moves and clashed their swords together, before batting Lord Jaime's sword away from him, landing on the opposite side of the ring. The Kingslayer was stunned... and everyone else... when Jon punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground and then turned him over with Jaime looking up at shock at Jon who held his sword at his throat.

"Yield," Jon said.

Jaime panted for a bit, before he smiled.

"I yield," said Jaime, who lifted his hand up.

Jon pulled the Kingslayer up, and they looked around to see that everyone in the courtyard was in shock, Northmen and Lannister alike, including Robb and Ser Rodrik, who couldn't believe what they had just seen. Arya couldn't blame them as she never imagined seeing such a thing in her life.

"You've given them quite a show," said the Kingslayer. "I hope you put in the same effort now that you're to be my squire."

Everyone who heard that gaped in shock, including Jon who shook his head.

"I thank you for the spar, Lord Jaime," said Jon. "Really I do. But I'm afraid I can't accept this."

Jaime frowned.

"I have already told you to not be ashamed of _what you are_," he said.

Arya heard the emphasis on what Jaime said, and for a moment thought that Jon would ask for another spar, but he stood there, eyes widened as he looked at Jaime, before his expression turned serious.

"It's not that, Lord Jaime," said Jon. "I have obligations elsewhere."

"Where? The Night's Watch? They're full of rapers and thieves. No offense to your uncle, but it would be a waste of potential on your part."

"They need the men," said Jon defiantly.

Arya sighed. _Why is Jon so insistent on taking the black? _Their father had told them that the Kingslayer was an oathbreaker and a man without honor, but Arya would prefer that Jon take his offer instead of going to the Wall.

Jaime regarded her brother with a strange look on his face and nodded.

"Should you change your mind, you know where to find me," he said before walking away with his men.

Jon stood there alone in his thoughts, before Theon walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"You sure showed him, Jon," said Theon, who grinned. "That ought to show him not to mess with you Starks."

Robb and the Northmen came up to Jon with awe in their eyes, before Robb spoke up.

"Did you really have to punch the Kingslayer in the face?"

Arya was wondering that same thing herself.

Jon just shrugged before saying, "It was the only way I could beat him."

"I know you well enough, Jon," Robb said. "I saw the look on your face when you hit him. You meant to do it and don't tell me it was not to help you win this match, no matter how good it was. Why'd you do it?"

Jon hesitated, but before he could say anything, Theon and the other Northmen picked him up.

"Who cares why he did it?" Theon said. "The point is Jon handed the Kingslayer's ass to him on a platter. This calls for celebration."

As they carried Jon away, he turned his head to where Arya had been, but didn't see her as she made her way to her room... where her mother _and_ Septa Mordane were waiting for her.

**A/N**: Hey, everyone! This story is not dead yet. I apologize for not getting this chapter up sooner than expected, but I was caught up with midterm exams and other personal stuff. I really hope you enjoy this chapter despite some of it being a little OOC on some occassions. I know Ser Jaime is supposed to be one of the best swordsmen in Westeros, but I'm not that well-versed in writing fight scenes, you'll have to forgive me on that, and considering that Jon knows of his true heritage and Jaime has lost his family, this is what I came up with. Anyways, I hope you really enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review and follow if you haven't already, and hopefully I will try to update soon as I can. Until then, see you next time.


	8. Jaime II

Chapter 7:

**JAIME**

When King Robert announced that he and his party were heading north, both to pay respects to his old friend Ned Stark and his late sister Lyanna, before his second wedding to Margaery Tyrell, to produce a royal heir, and give his daughter Myrcella's hand to Robb Stark in marriage, Jaime expected nothing less. After all, there wasn't much to see in the North, besides snow and mud, along with what Jaime considered to be one of the most ugliest castles he had ever seen.

_The Northmen really do keep to themselves, don't they?_, Jaime thought when he first set his eyes upon Winterfell. And to think that Myrcella would spend the rest of her life here, made Jaime feel uncomfortable, but at least it was more better than King Robert finding out about his affair with Cersei and having him and Myrcella executed. Jaime was both thankful and bitter that Jon Arryn, the sole surviving witness who could bring Jaime down, had decided not to disclose this information to Robert, and then proceeded to confront Jaime and rip into him for his faults, including his part in Tyrion's death.

_Who was he to judge?,_ Jaime thought. He and Ned Stark do have a lot in common, besides maintaining their precious honor... and keeping secrets from the king, as well.

Jaime had first seen Ned Stark's legitimized "bastard", when he and Robert stood staring at each other in uncomfortable silence, which made everyone uneasy, before the king decided to pay his respects to Lyanna Stark and humiliated him and Myrcella in front of the Starks after asking him to spend some time with his "daughter". Myrcella looked down when the king said that, while Jaime fumed at him insulting her like that. He and Myrcella were led to their rooms by the boy, who had glared at his father before he left with the king. Jaime had been taken aback by it, but thought nothing of it until later in the evening when he saved Myrcella from that vicious son of a whore Greyjoy who was drunk enough to put his hands on her. When the king wished to thank the lad for "showing the Ironborn a lesson in manners," they immediately came to another staredown, as if they had met before. Jaime was both confused and intrigued by what was happening, and then started to feel the same familiarity at seeing the boy's face closely. He couldn't be sure, but he had seen that look before, and it reminded him of someone else besides Ned Stark, who he appeared to look like more than any of the other Stark children.

Then the answer presented itself when Jaime noticed the looks between Myrcella and Ned Stark's heir, and struck up a short conversation with the man, of which he expressed his concerns over Myrcella getting her heart broken. Ned Stark defended his son, but then Jaime apologized to him clarifying the Baratheons and Starks' rocky history, where Ned Stark looked to his bastard for a moment before turning back to Jaime, who finally figured out who the boy really was, before retiring shortly for his chambers.

Jaime did not fall asleep at that moment, as he pondered on this discovery. The more he thought about the circumstances of the birth of Ned Stark's bastard, it made perfect sense. There couldn't be any possible way for Stark to get a woman with child while going off to Dorne to fight the last remainder of the Mad King's experienced Kingsguard to save his dying sister. Kingsguard who should've been with Rhaegar at the Trident or in King's Landing protecting their king. At least they still protected their king, despite him being raised as a Northern bastard by Ned Stark, and becoming legitimized at Lady Catelyn's request later on. Jaime had heard about her earlier behavior with Jon Stark before she completely changed her demeanor towards him and was baffled at first why she would care for the boy who was a reminder of her husband's infidelity, but now he laughed that no one else had figured it out... yet.

At first, Jaime considered going to the king in secret and inform him of his "friend's" betrayal. It would not only direct Robert's rage away from him and Myrcella, but it would be well-deserved payback on him and Lyanna Stark for bringing misery to his sister Cersei through their loveless marriage, for he never stopped loving the She-Wolf even after her death. Oh, he'd love watching him suffer at the knowledge that the girl he loved did not feel the same way for him, but then Jaime remembered how Rhaegar's family were slaughtered at the hands of his father's men and could already imagine the same fate upon the boy and Ned Stark's family before, which would result in the North and Riverlands rising up against Robert... and Jon Arryn too, after he revealed Jaime's secret once he found out he turned Robert against Ned Stark.

No, as much as Jaime hated Robert, it would not work nor would he attempt it. After all he still had a debt to pay to Rhaegar's son for saving Myrcella. He may have failed in saving his stepmother and half-siblings, but he would not fail this time. That was when he decided to stay behind in Winterfell and spar with Lord Stark's sons instead of accompanying the king on his hunt with Ned Stark, who suspected his intentions, but got called away before questioning Jaime, who was glad he had done so. He then proceeded to beat the Greyjoy lad, who Jaime compared to a shark on a mountaintop being thrown down into the sea, back to whence it came. Jaime relished seeing his loss, and then faced off against Myrcella's betrothed, who did not last long against him. Then he saw the boy, who had been observing them along with his "half-sister" from the bridge. He called the boy, who was a bit hesitant at first, but luckily Jaime reassured him it was fine.

And so they sparred, which left Jaime in surprise when the boy had knocked the sword out of his grip and then punched him in the face before forcing him to yield. Under such circumstances Jaime would have reached for his sword, pointing it at Jon's throat the moment he turned him over, but he had to give credit to the boy for his efforts. A couple more years of training would make him into an even better swordsman, even more so than Jaime or Ser Barristan, that is if he could still convince Jon to take his offer. Jaime had been surprised when Jon turned it down in favor of serving at the Wall. It seemed Ned Stark had instilled his sense of honor into the lad, but then again that didn't stop him from knocking Jaime to the ground. He'd have time to try convincing him otherwise... especially before he went to the Wall with grumpkins and snarks now lurking on the horizon.

Jaime had heard from his men that Ned Stark's brother, the new Lord Commander, had told the king that the Night's Watch needed more men because the White Walkers had returned. Jaime almost laughed about it but then he saw the looks of fear on the Northmen when Benjen Stark spoke up at the king's last feast in Winterfell did he realize it was a serious matter. A few Northmen volunteered themselves to take the black, including Jon Stark, to Jaime's disappointment.

Now I know how Father felt when I decided to join the Kingsguard, Jaime thought. It was a really strange feeling for him, ironic really, considering that he never thought he'd relate to his father in that aspect. He then caught Ned Stark staring at him coldly, and wondered if the boy had told his "father" of Jaime's offer to make him a squire. Either way, he wished to speak with him.

Not long after, Jaime requested a private audience with Ned Stark in his solar, where Ned Stark pushed Jaime against the wall and begin choking him.

"What in the Seven Hells--?"

"You think you're a clever man, don't you, Lannister?" Ned said. "Staying behind to spar with my sons so you can find your next squire, yet instead you spar with my son Jon, who I was informed easily defeated you and then was offered the position of which he refused. Why?"

Jaime struggled to breathe.

Ned sighed and let him go.

Jaime's hands went to his throat.

"You'd best explain yourself, Kingslayer," said Ned.

Jaime glared at Ned.

"You didn't think I would notice, did you, Stark? All that time that I've spent serving in the Kingsguard, I've never forgotten Rhaegar's face to this day, yet you expect me to be dumb enough not to recognize you claimed your sister's son as your own."

Ned's eyes widened before turning serious.

"That is a very serious accusation you're making, my Lord."

"I agree," said Jaime, who tilted his head. "I don't believe your friend would take that accusation too well, especially when he kept staring at the boy whenever they came into contact. The Gods help us should the King find out about the boy's true identity. One can only imagine the consequences of his rage, which is quite a storm indeed. I can't imagine your family would be spared, though."

"What do you want?" Ned growled.

"Why, to help the boy, of course. He has so much potential as a swordsman, it just simply cannot be wasted at the Wall, even though they do need the men, what with the White Walkers returning and coming for us all."

"You don't believe my brother?"

"Unfortunately... I do," said Jaime. "I mean I have my doubts of course, but you Starks are supposed to be the most honorable family in all of Westeros. Anything that comes from your mouth is accepted as being close to the truth." Jaime smiled when Stark stared at him. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I admire your efforts in keeping your nephew safe, but surely you must see the flaws in sending him to the Wall, where he might die at the hands of grumpkins and snarks."

"Jon can take care of himself."

"I'm sure he can handle himself with a sword, but are you willing to take that risk when you receive a raven from the Wall, saying that your sister's bastard--"

"Trueborn."

"What?" Jaime blinked in surprise.

"Rhaegar annulled his marriage to Princess Elia and married my sister in a secret ceremony," said Ned. "Everything we fought for in the Rebellion was a lie."

"Not everything," said Jaime. "What is his name?"

"Aegon."

Jaime blinked in surprise.

"But his brother's name was Aegon."

"I know. Lyanna and Elia became friends after the tourney of Harrenhal where she fell in love with Rhaegar. After she was killed along with her children, Lyanna decided to name her son after his late brother."

"Gods," Jaime said before looking to Stark. "You didn't win against Arthur Dayne... did you?"

"No," Ned finally admitted after a moment of silence. "Had it not been for my bannerman Howland Reed stabbing him in the back, I would've been dead instead of the Sword of the Morning."

"And that's when you came across your sister and her child."

Ned nodded.

"She made me promise to protect him, otherwise Robert would kill him if he found out. So I named him my bastard and brought him home."

"And I take, your wife was not too happy when you presented him as your bastard?"

"I nearly destroyed my family by lying to her, and thus I do not wish to do so again."

"Who else knows besides your wife and Howland Reed?"

"Jon knows as well as Maester Luwin."

"And how does he feel about that? I don't imagine he was proud of finding out his true heritage."

"Why do you care so much what happens to him?" Ned asked.

"I made a promise to protect Rhaegar's family," said Jaime. "I failed in doing so before, but I cannot simply stand by and let the rightful king of Westeros be shipped off to his death."

"You're not a Kingsguard anymore, Lannister," said Ned. "So you don't have to worry about protecting him... Not that it did you any good before."

Jaime narrowed his eyes.

"You still don't trust me, do you Stark? You still believe I'm my father's son who decided to break his oaths as a Kingsguard by stabbing the Mad King in the back. If I was, then it'd be a blessing in disguise from the gods considering I stopped the Mad King from killing everyone in King's Landing with wildfire."

"What?"

Jaime smiled bitterly at Stark.

"I never told you why I really killed Aerys because you didn't ask... and you didn't ask because you judged me guilty along with the rest of the realm."

Ned Stark was silent.

"I was there when it happened, you know."

Stark stared at him, blinking in confusion.

"When your father and brother died."

Ned nodded.

"They didn't deserve to die like that... in fact, no one deserves to die like that. I can still remember your father screaming as he burned alive and your brother strangling himself to death as he reached out for the sword to cut his father free, while the Mad King's laughs filled the Great Hall. He enjoyed watching him burn, you know, the way his skin blackened and blistered and melted off his bones."

Jaime turned to Ned, who had frozen in place, thinking of his family's death.

"That's what he did with lords he didn't like and Hands who disobeyed him. He burned them... and anyone else who was against him. Soon, the whole realm turned against him. So he had his pyromancer place caches of wildfire all over the city- beneath the Sept of Baelor and the slums of Flea Bottom. Under houses, stables, taverns. Even beneath the Red Keep itself." Jaime paused as he saw Stark's hands shook. "That day when my father arrived in the capital with the whole Lannister army at his back, he promised to defend the city against the rebels, but we all knew him better than that, didn't we? He was never one to choose the losing side. I told the Mad King as much, urged him to surrender peacefully, but he didn't listen to me. Nor did he listen to Varys who tried to warn him. But he did listen to that grey, sunken cunt Pycelle. 'You can trust the Lannisters,' he said. 'The Lannisters have always been true friends of the crown.' So we opened the gates and you know the rest. I went to the king once again, begging him to surrender. Do you know what he did next?" Ned shook his head. "He told me to bring him my father's head. Then he turned to his pyromancer and said, 'Burn them all. Burn them in their homes. Burn them in their beds.'

Ned Stark had a terrible, haunted look on his face.

"I killed the pyromancer first, and then when Aerys turned to flee, I drove my sword into his back. 'Burn them all,' he kept saying. 'Burn them all.' I don't think he expected to die. He- he meant to burn with the rest of us and rise again, reborn as a dragon to turn his enemies to ash. I slit his throat to make sure that didn't happen. That's where you found me."

Ned stared, wide-eyed at Jaime, before clearing his throat.

"If that is true, why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't want to hear my side before, so why bother asking now?" Jaime spat. "By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?!?"

Stark looked down with regret and said nothing.

"Tell me, Lord Stark, if your precious Robert commanded you to kill your own nephew and stand by while your household burned alive as punishment for your actions, would you have done it? Would you have kept your oaths then?"

Stark shook his head.

"I didn't think so," said Jaime, who turned to leave the room.

"Lannister."

Jaime turned to Ned.

"Yes, Lord Stark?"

"I... I cannot express how truly sorry I am for having misjudged you so."

"Please don't. It won't help you otherwise."

"However, I hope we can set our past differences aside. If you wish, I will speak with Jon to consider your offer more carefully."

Jaime nodded.

"Please do so. After all, I'm not inclined to wait for much long."

Ned nodded while Jaime left the room and sighed.

_Perhaps there is hope for someone like me after all_, Jaime thought as he headed to his room.

**A/N**: I apologize for the long wait. I've been caught up with school work, hence I've had hardly any time to post the next update. I'm sorry if it feels a little rushed, I'm just trying to get this out as quickly as possible as I can. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter.


	9. Eddard III

Chapter 8:

**EDDARD**

The trip to King's Landing was uneventful, despite Robert warning Ned about the smallfolk getting sicker and sicker every day, which had led to some riots by itself but nothing the Goldcloaks couldn't handle.

Arriving here now, Ned was shocked to say the least. As they passed through the gates of the Red Keep, he would never forget the smallfolk's cries of mourning and pain. A few smallfolk had approached them but were pushed aside from the Kingsguard. Ned turned his head to where Bran and Jon were riding by his side. Both of them tried not staring at the smallfolk, but none of them could not hide their sympathy either.

Catelyn had begged her husband to leave Bran at Winterfell as she worried something awful might happen to him. Ned embraced her in his arms and told her, "As soon as Robert's wedding is finished, all of us will be coming home."

"Your father and brother once promised to return home, and look what happened to them," Catelyn said.

"That was a different time and a different king," Ned said, more to reassure himself than to his wife. He didn't admit it to Catelyn, but he shared in the same fears as her. He was worried that Robert would find out about Jon, but apparently he was too preoccupied with his upcoming wedding and figuring how to appease tp the smallfolk's needs.

As they entered the safeties of the Red Keep's courtyard, Ned could see many guards about, and the Small Council, with Jon Arryn at the head of it. He approached them while Ned and Robert dismounted.

"Jon," said Robert.

"Your Grace," said Jon, who nodded his head once. "Welcome back. I trust that your journey went well."

"Of course. As you can see, I've brought Ned and his family here for my wedding."

"Yes, I see," said Jon who embraced Ned. "It's good to see you again, Eddard."

"And I you, Jon," said Ned, who returned his hug.

At that moment, Ned's children approached, and Jon went over to them. He stopped when he saw the eldest son.

"So you must be my namesake, am I correct?"

"I am, my lord," Jon said.

Jon Arryn nodded and silently studied the boy's features, while Robert narrowed his eyes while Jaime and Ned looked to each other in worry, while the others looked unsure.

Jon then moved over and met with the other Stark children, while Jaime and Ned silently breathed in relief, while Robert shook his head and approached the Small Council.

"That was close," whispered Jaime.

"Which is why I did not wish to bring Jon here to this place," hissed Ned back softly.

"I understand your worries, Stark. Believe me I do, but trust me, it's better this way."

"How is it better this way, Lannister?!" Ned said before staring down Jaime, who seemed unfazed by his look and drew him aside from the others.

"Well, for one thing the Others are returning to bring destruction upon Westeros, which is already in a bad state right now, with corruption and power-hungry lords all vying for utter control in their precious game of thrones. Trust me, this is the perfect distraction to keep Robert's mind from wondering if Jon Stark is really your son or not."

"Or just make things all the worse," Ned grumbled.

"Pardon me, my lords."

Ned and Jaime turned, startled by the intrusion, and froze when they came face-to-face with the Master of Whisperers himself.

Varys.

He seemed to notice their shock and smiled. "Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you, my lords. I merely wished to welcome you to the city, Lord Stark."

"Lord Varys," said Ned, who formally shook the man's hand.

"I must congratulate you on your son's betrothal to the Princess. She has already suffered enough loss in her life at such a young age. I hope their marriage is a blissful one."

Ned's face remained expressionless while Jaime's turned pale.

"Yes, indeed," said Petyr Baelish, who walked up to them. "May the gods look favorably upon them." He nodded in Ned's direction. "Lord Stark. I had been hoping to meet you for quite some time. I have no doubt Lady Catelyn has mentioned me."

He extended his hand and Ned took it... and was crushing it in his grip.

Littlefinger looked in shock, while Ned smiled politely while his eyes held a look of... rage in them.

Had it not been for Jaime telling the truth why he really killed the Mad King, Ned would never have found out from him during their journey on the Kingsroad that the man they called Littlefinger had been spreading false rumors of him taking Catelyn Stark's maidenhood and giving Ned Stark his leftovers. Jaime had tod Ned everything he knew about the members of the Small Council, to which Ned was sincerely grateful on Lord Jaime's behalf.

"She has," Ned said while still holding Baelish's hand in his grasp. "I also understand you knew my brother Brandon as well."

Before Baelish could say anything, Jaime spoke up.

"All too well, Stark," he said, drawing the attention of Varys and Littlefinger. "I hear he still carries a token of his esteem from navel to collarbone. Sounds like he chose the wrong man to duel with."

"It wasn't the man he chose, Lannister," Ned said. "It was _my wife,_ Catelyn _Stark. _A woman truly worth fighting for." He tilted his head to the side. "Wouldn't you agree, my Lord?"

At this point, Littlefinger stared at Ned Stark in horror, while Varys' lips twitched, showing signs of a smirk.

"Renly!" said Ned, who let go of Littlefinger and went to hug the King's brother. "You look well."

"And you look tired from the road," said Renly who stopped and looked at Littlefinger, who was silently clutching his hand in pain and staring at Ned with fear in his eyes, before turning back to Ned and raising his brow. "But then again, appearances can deceive."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Ned.

"Thank you, although I'm not sure if I deserve it," said Renly. "Stannis and I weren't that close, while Robert... Robert saw you as the brother he never had. Stannis may have resented you for that, but I can assure you that is not so on my behalf."

"I thank you for your honesty then," said Ned who hugged Renly.

"I humbly beg your pardon, Lord Stark," said Grand Maester Pycelle, who slowly walked to them.

"Grand Maester."

"How many years has it been? You were a young man."

"And we served another king," said Jaime. "Or have you already forgotten?"

Pycelle winced, but regained himself quickly, saying "Yes, yes, of course. How forgetful of me, my Lord. We are very pleased to see that you came all this way from the North to attend His Grace's wedding."

"Robert is my friend, now and always," said Ned. "I wouldn't miss his wedding for anything in the world."

"Yes, especially when the White Walkers have returned," said Varys casually.

Ned's eyes widened, as did Jaime's. "How--?"

"Knowledge is my trade, my Lord," Varys said. "My little birds are everywhere_, _even in the north. They whisper to me the strangest stories. Including that of a certain deserter of the Night's Watch who made his way south of the wall, claiming the White Walkers killed his companions on a ranging expedition, up to the point where you removed his head."

Ned looked at Varys in shock.

"I must admit, my lord, I was surprised when I heard the news. Surprised and curious whether you had become mad, as the rest of us thought."

"Is it true, Ned?" asked Jon Arryn, who had a look of apprehension on him as he and Robert approached.

"I'm afraid so," said Ned, who nodded his head slowly.

The Small Council looked to each other in shock. Pycelle looked like he was on the verge of pissing himself and started muttering prayers to the Seven to save them. Renly and Jon were in shock, while Varys and Robert looked slightly worried. But it was Littlefinger's reaction that worried Ned. He had a look of calculation in his eyes. Whatever Baelish was planning, it wasn't good.

"My lord," said Jory who approached them. "I've had your things settled in your rooms."

"Thank you, Jory. Tell my children I will be there."

Jory nodded and walked away.

"It was very wise of you to bring them here, Ned," said Jon Arryn. "Especially with what is happening north of the Wall right now."

"Yes indeed," Baelish said, while looking at Sansa with a look of... _desire _in his eyes. Ned's fists tightened as he saw the manner Littlefinger was looking at his daughter in. By the gods, he's old enough to be her father, Ned thoight in disgust. He would have a talk with Sansa, and tell her to avoid Littlefinger's company at all costs. Then he would send a raven to Catelyn and inform her of _everything _her former friend was doing.

In addition to the rumors, Jaime had informed Ned that Littlefinger had borrowed the Crown's coin extensively and used it to his advantage by buying brothels, which he used to gather information on certain lords and blackmail them to his will, along with the fact that _he_ was the true father to Lysa's son, Robin. Jaime had told him that his wife's sister despised her husband, much like how late Queen Cersei despised Robert through their marriage, and had talked of poisoning him someday so that she would be with her "beloved Petyr" after a certain period of mourning.

The gall on that man!, he thought. It took every ounce of honor Ned had to keep him from strangling Littlefinger to death in front of everyone. Luckily he would have enough time to inform Jon and Robert before Littlefinger could act even further.

"Your Grace, Jon," Ned said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check in on my family, but I wish to speak with the both of you alone on how we can handle the Others."

"Of course, Ned," said Robert, who nodded.

"Lord Jaime, if you'll follow me please," said Ned. "I would like to have a word with you."

Jaime looked surprised. "Of course, Lord Stark. Your Grace." He nodded to the king, and caught up with Ned. "May I ask what that was all about?"

"We're going to expose Littlefinger once and for all," Ned said. "I need you to be there with me when that happens."

"Ahhh," said Jaime. "Trying to beat him at his own game, are we?"

"You said it yourself," Ned said. "Littlefinger is a dangerous player in the game of thrones. And in the game of thrones, you either win or you die. There is no middle ground. I'm just trying to save all of our heads before winter comes for us all."

Jaime nodded.

"I'll leave you to it," he said. "In the meantime, I have to see how _your _son will fare as my squire. Some of my men are a bit apprehensive at him being my squire, considering how he beat me at sparring."

"I taught him well, it would seem," said Ned.

Jaime turned to Ned with a look of shock. "You sparred with him?"

Ned nodded.

"Every day I sparred with my sons to test their skill," Ned said. "But it was Jon who showed great interest. He said if he were to be raised a bastard, then I should at least raise him to be a bastard who was also the greatest swordsman in the realm." He sighed. "He was angry, you know. When Robert showed up at Winterfell, I was worried that Jon might end up starting a war between the Northsmen and the King's men. Put himself in harm's way after I made the promise to his mother."

Jaime had seen the way Jon looked at the king, wanting to kill him, which was unnerving to say the least, but it also led to confusion when nothing happened.

"Why didn't he?"

"He said that for my sake and the sake of our family, he would not harm the King out of our friendship's sake."

Jaime nodded. Although there was something else that was bothering him.

"May I ask why he suddenly punched me in the face? I'm guessing that it wasn't a part of his strategy to defeat him."

"Oh it was," Ned said, which caused Jaime to raise his brow. "He also said that it was for, failing to protect his siblings from your father's men."

"I told you before, Stark. I am _not_ my father."

"I know that, my lord. And so does Jon. He knows that you couldn't protect them because his grandfather threatened to destroy King's Landing with wildfire and everyone with it. He just needs time to take everything in."

Before Jaime could speak, Jon approached them. "My lord." He turned to Jaime before nodding to Ned. "Father."

"What is it, Jon?" Ned said.

"Sandor Clegane has arrived from Dorne and wishes to speak with you, Lord Jaime," said Jon.

"Oh, thank you, lad," said Jaime, who smiled and turned to Ned. "I knew he was going to be an excellent squire."

Ned rolled his eyes.

"Now if you'll excuse me--"

"I'm afraid there's more, Lord Jaime," said Jon.

Jaime and Ned frowned.

"He brings company with him, my Lord."

Jaime and Ned's eyes widened

"The Martells," Ned whispered.

"That is correct, father," Jon said.

"Well fuck," Jaime said.

Ned sighed before nodding. "Well then, you better not keep your guests from waiting."

**A/N**: Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you know this story isn't dead yet, and I have to admit I was holding myself back on writing the next chapter, considering what is going on around the world right now. I was completely shocked when I first heard the news and put this aside since I was feeling uninspired and got caught up with everything that is happening right now. So far the schools have been closed for the remainder of the year, and we have a stay-at-home order which will last until the 19th of this month. Also I didn't want to make any error that made me want to abandon writing this story, but I am determined to see this through to the end, so I decided to have another shot at it. I know I may have rushed this chapter a bit, so I apologize for that. Anyways, don't forget to review and follow this story if you haven't already and don't feel afraid to give some feedback. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. That really helps in motivating me to write. Also, I hope each and every one of you enjoyed this chapter and I urge you to stay safe out there. Take care. And until then, see you next time!


	10. Jaime III

Chapter 9:

**JAIME**

As Jon led him back to the courtyard, he could already hear Robert's bloodcurdling shouting.

"JON, YOU INVITED THESE DRAGONLOVERS TO MY WEDDING?!?"

"That doesn't sound good," said Jaime who entered the courtyard and saw King Robert who turned on Jon Arryn, while a few feet away, stood the Hound himself accompanied by the Red Viper along with a Dornish woman who Jaime would assume was another one of his lovers.

"Yes, Robert," said Arryn calmly. "I offered Prince Doran a position on the Small Council--"

"YOU DID WHAT?!?"

"Did you not hear him, _Your Grace, _or have you put some weight on your ears as well, that you've lost all sense of hearing?" said the Red Viper, which caused Robert to glare at him.

"--as part of a peace offering, after handing the late Ser Gregor over to their custody," Jon Arryn said, ignoring the Red Viper's remarks. "And since Prince Doran's health has kept him from attending, he has sent his brother Prince Oberyn in his stead."

"Are you fucking serious?!?" shouted Robert. "What is wrong with you, Jon? I am the king, and I get to decide who I want on my Small Council, and who I want at MY wedding!"

"Yes," said Jon Arryn. "You are the king, Robert. But when was the last time you came to a Small Council meeting to discuss the needs of the realm, rather than your own?"

Robert opened his mouth but Jon would not let him speak.

"Besides questioning Lord Jaime on his relationship with his late sister Queen Cersei, of course," Jon Arryn said.

The king shut his mouth.

"Exactly," Jon Arryn said before walking over to Robert and whispering in his ear, softly but enough for Jaime to hear. "Robert, I know you don't agree with me on this, but trust me, we need all the men we can get to help us fight against the Others."

Robert's eyes dawned in understanding. He nodded in defeat.

"Fine," Robert said. "We'll do it your way, Jon."

As Robert walked away, with Jon following closely behind him, Jaime walked up to the Hound.

"Clegane."

"Lannister."

"It's good to see you back here," said Jaime, who turned to the Red Viper and extended his hand. "Prince Oberyn, I'm so glad you could make it."

"Lord Jaime," said the Red Viper. "My brother and I were most pleasantly surprised at receiving your gift."

"I assume that it's done then?"

"What, you mean in that monster being dead? Yes, the fucker is dead. May he suffer in the Seven Hells for all I care. My sister Elia and her children can finally rest, knowing that the parties involved in her death have now faced justice from the gods, not a justice I wished for, but one I will happily accept."

"That is good to hear then," said Jaime.

Oberyn nodded, before noticing Jaime's squire and eyeing him up and down.

"May I ask who your companion is, Lord Jaime? It seems I've been caught up in having justice for my late sister, that I forget there are others around us who haven't been properly introduced."

Oberyn's companion approached and gave him a long passionate kiss, which made Jaime and Jon exchange puzzled looks while the Hound rolled his eyes at the display.

"Ellaria Sand, my paramour. Meet Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, former member of King Aerys' Kingsguard, as well as that of the Fat Stag's, son of the late Tywin Lannister, and the new Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West." Oberyn locked eyes with Jon. "And who might you be?"

Jaime looked at Jon, who hesitated for a bit before opening his mouth.

"Jon Stark," he said. "I am Lord Jaime's squire."

The Hound and Oberyn stared at Jon for a moment.

"So you're Ned Stark's bastard?" said Oberyn.

"I am, my Prince," said Jon. "Or at least, I was before Lord Stark saw to it that His Grace King Robert had me legitimized."

Oberyn narrowed his eyes and seemed to study Jon Stark a moment, which made Jaime worry whether the Red Viper would make its strike, but instead his features softened.

"A Stark serving under a Lannister," Oberyn mused before turning to Jaime. "How did that come to pass?"

"I sparred with him in Winterfell," said Jaime. "Lord Stark's training and his cunning helped him win the battle."

"How?" Oberyn asked, his curiosity piqued.

Jaime's face flushed, while Jon smirked.

"He punched me in the face and knocked my sword out of my hand," said Jaime.

Oberyn stared at Jaime in shock and then turned to Jon, before he threw his head back and laughed. The Hound however walked up to Jon until they were staring face-to-face, with Jon looking up to the Hound.

"You punched the Lannister lord, bastard?" growled the Hound.

Jon flinched, but he nodded.

The Hound joined the Red Viper in laughing, although his laughter sounded more like a dog's barks than cheerful.

They both calmed themselves before the Hound looked at Jon and said, "Good. My lord needs to be shown not to be an ass all the time."

"Clegane," Jaime hissed.

The Hound smirked at Jon before walking away. Oberyn and his paramour then walked up to Jon.

"So you defeated the greatest swordsman in all of Westeros in a spar then? I must congratulate you on your achievement."

Oberyn paused, while Ellaria walked up behind Jon, who froze unsure of what was happening. Jaime, however, could only imagine, and the last thing he needed right now was getting in problems with Ned Stark.

"Have you... had your first woman yet, boy?" Oberyn asked.

Before Jon could say anything, Oberyn's hand shot up and grabbed his crotch. Jon's eyes widened and a small moan came out.

"Well?" Oberyn smirked.

Jon shook his head slowly, and Oberyn smiled even more. "Well then it's a good thing Ellaria and I have met you, Jon Stark. Because a man should let not his sword rust away, when he has so much potential. We'd like to invite you to sup with us, that is of course, assuming Lord Jaime as well as your father and his family are willing to allow it."

Jaime palmed his face, and shook his head. Why did the gods have to play such cruel tricks on him? It seemed that life was such easier before the damned disease occurred. Jaime did not have to worry about anything. He could be himself, without a care in the world along with the woman he loved passionately. But the gods punished him for his transgressions and forced him to grow up, and ever since that moment they just seemed to enjoy inflicting punishment on him even further.

Jon, noting his discomfort, said, "I'll have to see if my duty to my lord does not keep me from accepting your offer."

Oberyn nodded and let him go, while Ellaria returned back to her lover.

"Prince Oberyn, may we speak in private?" Jaime said.

Oberyn raised his brow in confusion.

"I thought we already were, Lannister," he said.

Jaime's eyes flicked to his paramour. Oberyn sighed and nodded to Ellaria, who kissed him passionately on his cheek before she left.

Jaime turned to Jon, who was still by his side.

"That means you too, Stark," said Jaime. "I wish to speak with Prince Oberyn alone. Please make sure all my things are settled in my room."

Jon nodded and rushed off.

"He's too pretty to be your squire," said Oberyn. "I do hope you and his family allow him to sup with us. I want to know more about the boy who beat the Kingslayer."

"Why are you here?"

"Pardon."

"Why did you come to King's Landing, Prince Oberyn?"

"Don't tell me you are as deaf as that fat pig that sits on the throne looking down on the rest of Westeros, Lord Jaime. His Lord Hand has already said that we were invited to the royal wedding."

"I wish to speak truthfully," said Jaime.

"You wish to speak truthfully, _Lannister_?" Oberyn hissed like a true viper. "Fine. The last time I attended a wedding was many years ago in the capital. My sister and Rhaegar Targaryen, the Last Dragon. You remember them, do you not, _my lord_? She loved that man, bore his children. She swaddled them, rocked them, fed them at her own breast. Elia would never let the wet nurse touch them, while Rhaegar--" Jaime was surprised at how much venom the Red Viper spat out saying Rhaegar's name. "_Rhaegar_. The beautiful, noble Rhaegar Targaryen left for another woman. Lord Stark's sister. The betrothed to your precious King Robert. That started a war, and you know how it ended, my lord."

"I am not my father, Prince Oberyn," said Jaime.

"No," sneered Oberyn. "You're not. You aren't the man who took the city with his army, and then proceeded to butcher those children. My niece and nephew. They were carved up and wrapped them in Lannister cloaks. And my sister--" Oberyn's eyes took a pained look, before they turned rageful. "You remember what they did to her, do you not?"

"My prince--" said Jaime.

"Answer me, Lannister," said Oberyn. "ANSWER ME!!!"

Jaime opened his mouth and closed it a few times before sighing.

"My father had Gregor Clegane... rape her before crushing her skull and splitting her corpse in half," Jaime murmured.

"So you admit your House was responsible for what happened to my sister and her children?" said Prince Oberyn.

"Yes," said Jaime. "I'm sorry for what happened to them."

"Save it, Lannister," Oberyn said. "After all your apologies cannot bring the dead back since you were too busy killing Aerys in the Throne Room."

"If I hadn't," Jaime shouted. "Elia and her children would have died as well, along woth my father's armies and everyone who was inside the city!"

Oberyn stared at Jaime in shock, before he narrowed his eyes. "What was he planning to do this time?"

Jaime's eyes widened at the implications of his words, but he couldn't go back now and take it back, so he told Prince Oberyn what he told Ned Stark.

"That fucking madman!" Oberyn shouted. "He really tried to burn down King's Landing with wildfire?"

"I had no other choice, Prince Oberyn," said Jaime. "If I could save Elia from my father's men if I could, I would have gladly done so even if my honor cost me my life."

Oberyn stood there quietly, listening.

"I'm not ashamed of what I did," Jaime said. "I would have happily done it again in a heartbeat, but believe me when I say if I could've said Princess Elia and her children, I would."

Prince Oberyn nodded.

"I believe you, Lord Jaime," he said. "But you are a cunt if you think you can hide the truth from the rest of the realm. Although there is something I would like to know?"

"And that is?"

"Why did you really take the Stark boy as your squire?"

Jaime froze and looked at Oberyn, before smiling smugly.

"He put up a good fight and impressed me with his skills," he said.

"You don't really expect me to believe that, do you, Lannister?" Oberyn said. "You lie worse than your father, who refused to admit his role in my sister's death."

The Dornish prince then shot out and held Jaime's forearm in his grip before pulling him forward.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Oberyn said. "I think that boy is more than what you or Ned Stark claim him to be, and you don't want King Robert to find out who he really is, am I right?"

Jaime didn't say anything, but inside his mind was panicking. Was this why Ned Stark wanted him sent off to the Wall? So he wouldn't stand out in this viper's nest?

Oberyn spoke even more. "Had I been in a different mindset, I would've probably stabbed him in the heart for living while his half-siblings suffered greatly. Or perhaps I would relay this information to King Robert, see what he thinks about all this?"

"Don't," said Jaime. "My squire is innocent of any wrong against--"

"My sister and her children were also innocent of any wrong against the realm," hissed Oberyn, in Jaime's ear. "But that didn't stop your father from ordering their deaths, or the fatass king supporting it and letting their killer roam free. So don't you dare talk to me about fair."

Jaime closed his eyes.

"But... I have not forgotten you handed the Mountain over to us," said Oberyn, who let his arm go. "So the boy's secret is safe with me... for now."

"Why did you really come here, Prince Oberyn?" said Jaime hesitantly.

"To let your king know the fury doesn't belong to him or his House," said Oberyn. "Have a good day, my lord."

Oberyn left, leaving Jaime alone in his thoughts.

**A/N**: And another chapter is completed. I hope I really got the Red Viper's character right, as he was one of my favorites on the show, and the Mountain has fallen, so no skull-crushing this time... hopefully. I sort of rushed this chapter out, to make up for putting this off for a month, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think. Until then, stay safe and see you next time.


	11. Eddard IV

Chapter 10:

**EDDARD**

As soon as Ned made sure his children were settled in, he made his way to the king's chambers, where Robert and Jon Arryn were waiting for him. He took an empty seat next to Jon.

"Well, Ned," said Robert. "Now that we're all here, we can discuss the situation concerning the Others."

"Of course, Your Grace," said Ned. "But that wasn't the real reason why I wished to speak with you and Jon."

"Oh?" Robert raised his brow while Jon frowned. "What is it then?"

Before Ned could answer, Jaime entered the room at that moment, which caused the king to growl in annoyance.

"What do you want, Lannister? In case, you haven't noticed, I am speaking with Lord Stark on important matters," said Robert.

"It's alright, Your Grace," said Ned. "I invited him to come."

Robert turned to Ned in surprise. "You invited him?"

"I don't see the reason why you didn't bother to mention it before when you arrived," said Jon in disapproval.

"Because I didn't want anyone to know that Lord Jaime was coming to this meeting," said Ned. "Had they known, your Small Council would want to wonder what was being said behind closed doors."

"Of course," said Robert, who nodded. "I understand your concerns, Ned. After all, I am surrounded by a bunch of flatterers and gossipers in this city, no thanks to your sister, Lannister."

Ned saw Jaime's mouth twitch.

"But I have to agree with Jon here. I don't see why you brought him here into this meeting, Ned," said Robert.

"Because Lord Jaime has information that you and Jon need to hear."

Robert and Jon looked to Jaime in surprise, before Robert waved his hand at him.

"Well, Kingslayer, get on with it then."

"Your Grace," Jaime began. "It has come to my attention that your Master of Coin has been withholding information from you, concerning not only the crown's debts to my House, but also to the Iron Bank."

"Littlefinger?" said Jon in shock after hearing those words. "I mean, yes, he's a clever man, but he has been helpful in bringing coin to the crown."

"I have information that states otherwise," said Jaime, which caused Jon to glare at him. "Essential information, I might add?"

"And just how, pray tell, did you get this said information?" Robert said.

"Through my late sister's spies, of course," said Jaime with a humorless grin.

"Damn that woman," Robert grumbled under his breath while shaking his head. "Of course she had to have spies. By what right, besides claiming that she was Queen, did your sister have in thinking she can involve herself in the affairs of the Crown? No, no, don't tell me. I can already imagine. After all, I was married to that lion-bitch for nearly twenty years." Jaime's grin turned into a grimace. "She wasn't happy with what little power she had, so she wanted more. She even passed those same thoughts onto Joffrey. It's a miracle, almost, that the gods removed that boy from being next in line to my throne. I can already see him being the next Aerys Targaryen, for fuck's sake."

Jon gave Jaime a knowing look, while Ned cleared his throat and spoke.

"Robert."

"What?"

Ned was surprised by the fury in Robert's tone, but was undeterred.

"We are getting ahead of ourselves."

"Of course," said Robert. "Now then, Lannister. What is this 'essential information' that you have, concerning my Master of Coin?"

"Do you not find it strange, your Grace, my Lord Hand, that whenever the crown needed money, Littlefinger was the only one unaffected from all of this outcome? Whenever he was called to help, he basically rubbed his hands together and poof, brought mountains of gold with him?"

"I don't see anything strange about it," said Robert. "The man is a magician."

The others just looked at him, and after a while, Robert understood what they were implying.

"Are you saying he's not a magician?" Robert said.

"Obviously not, Your Grace," retorted Jaime. "If he were one, he would be pulling rabbits out of his pockets and handling them to all the children in Flea Bottom."

"I am not in the mood for your jests, Lannister," growled Robert. "So it's best you hold your tongue, otherwise you'll end up like Ser Ilyn."

Jaime smirked coldly at the king.

"Now," Robert said. "I must know. Has. He. Been. Stealing. From. Me?"

"No, Your Grace," said Jaime. "He's been borrowing it without your approval."

"The hell do you mean, he's borrowing without my approval? It sounds an awful lot like stealing, if you ask me."

"Of course, Your Grace. But the point I'm trying to make is that Littlefinger's habits cannot allow you to afford paying it back."

"So we're broke?" shouted Robert.

"Not entirely, Your Grace," said Jon. "There's still a chance we can pull the kingdom out of debt. A small one, but a chance nonetheless. We just have to worry about getting a hand on Littlefinger's ledgers without him noticing."

"We could use our campaign against the Others as a possible excuse," Ned said. "Once we go through those ledgers and have enough evidence to use against Baelish, you'll also need to appoint a new Master of Coin."

"Of course," Robert said with his eyes alight. "And I think I know just who I have in mind."

Ned's eyes widened when he saw Robert staring at him.

"No," he said. "Robert, as much as you are my friend, I cannot accept--"

"Nonsense, Ned," Robert said. "This is a perfect opportunity to have you by my side, exactly as it should have been."

"But, but," Ned stammered. "Your Grace, I know nothing about maintaining coin."

"Don't worry," Robert said. "Lannister can help you."

Jaime glared at him.

"Now, if that is all--" Robert got up to get out of his chair.

"I'm afraid there is more, Your Grace."

Robert frowned and sat back down.

"And what more could that bastard have done to me and my coin that I don't already know?"

"Not you... Your Grace." Jaime seemed to say that last part as an afterthought before turning to Jon. "But your Lord Hand."

Robert started at that, before Jon looked to Jaime in shock.

"In addition to... Lord Baelish's handling of the Crown's treasury, my sister's spies also reported to me that... Littlefinger made frequent visits to Lady Lysa while you were busy, my lord."

"Of course he made frequent visits," said Jon. "How can he not? They grew up together as childhood friends. She may have--" From what Ned could see on his face, he knew he filled in what Jaime was implying. "What are you saying, Lannister?"

"Your wife and Baelish have been intimate with each other throughout your whole marriage, my lord, which is an awful thing on its own, but that is not the worst part."

"What is the worse part, then, my lord?" Jon said, his eyes narrowed.

"The worse part, my lord, is... as a result from one of those visits, your wife was pregnant and gave birth to a child, my lord. _His _child_._"

Jon's eyes widened. "No, you cannot possibly mean," he said. "No..."

"What is it, Jon?" Robert said, concerned for his old friend.

"He's saying that Robin isn't my son," Jon said, his eyes watery. "That he's the son of Littlefinger."

Robert's face reddened as he turned to Jaime. "Kingslayer!"

"I know it sounds like Lord Jaime is making serious accusations," Ned finally spoke. "But it makes perfect sense. Jon, all your ancestors in House Arryn have only had blonde hair and blue eyes while my good-sister's House are auburn-haired and blue eyes. So how is it that your son has dark hair and greyish-blue eyes, when all the times that House Tully married into House Arryn, has only resulted in births of blonde hair and light blue eyes, unless of course he wasn't your son?"

Jon looked to Ned in desperation.

"I'm sorry, Jon," Ned said. "But Lord Jaime is telling the truth."

Jon nodded in defeat and spoke so softly it could barely be heard.

"I want to be alone. Robert, is it alright if I use your solar for a bit?"

"Of course, Jon," Robert said. "As long as you need it."

All the men save for Jon stood up to leave, before Jon spoke up.

"Ned, can I talk to you before you leave?"

Ned looked to Robert and Jaime, before nodding and going back to the chair he sat in.

"What is it, Jon?"

"Have I really been so blind as to not realize what was happening in my own home?" Jon shook his head. "Gods, it's like the Rebellion all over again..."

"Jon?"

"When you returned from Dorne with your sister's bones and a child in your arms, you told Robert he was yours." Ned's eyes widened. "He was surprised when you told him that you got some serving wench pregnant with your seed when you were on your way to rescue my sister. He laughed and said that the honorable Ned Stark finally gave in to his passion, but I knew better. The both of you grew up together in my home after all, and you were so alike yet so completely different. Robert was the bold one, while you were more controlled. I knew the truth the moment you brought your sister's son up as your own."

"Jon--"

"I understand why you did it, Ned. Really, I do. I remember you mentioning Lyanna in the Eyrie as having the wolfsblood and that she was even wild as one, that no one could tame her. It was what drew Robert to your sister. So when she went missing, we all assumed that Rhaegar had taken her by force, but we should have known better. From what you mentioned of her, she didn't seem the type to allow herself to be taken against her own will. But we were caught up in a war against Aerys, and our reasoning was justified when he had your father and brother executed. It was all the motive we needed to remove the Mad King from power, but Robert only saw it as a chance to kill the bastard who kidnapped and raped the woman he loved. After Tywin Lannister presented him with the corpses of Princess Elia and her children with Rhaegar Targaryen, the two of you argued until Robert said he didn't see them as children, but dragonspawn. I tried getting him to turn the Mountain over to the Martells, but Robert saw them as Rhaegar's allies, and said they needed to feel the same thing he did when he couldn't get justice for Lyanna. So when you showed up with her child, I kept quiet for all these years and did not mention it to anyone. For I knew that if Robert had found out the truth that day as he might now, he would have killed the child since it was living proof that Lyanna did not love him and a bloodbath would be drawn between the both of you. And I couldn't stand to see that happen, for the both of you are the sons I never had, but who I loved as my own." Jon said the last part softly before he wiped the tears from his eyes. Ned went over and hugged him, before kissing his forehead.

"Get some rest, old man," said Ned.

Jon nodded.

"You make sure my namesake stays safe, understand, Ned?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way," Ned said before walking out of the king's solar where he found Lord Jaime waiting outside.

"Will he be alright?" Jaime said.

"He will be," Ned said. "Eventually."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Having to break the news to your friend like that and causing you to have an uncomfortable conversation with him after finding out his wife cuckolded him and gave birth to another man's son."

"He knows about Jon."

Jaime's eyes widened. "What?!"

Ned nodded. "He's known ever since I brought him from Dorne."

"Do you think he will tell--?"

"He won't. He knows the truth will set Robert off, and he doesn't want a war between us."

"Well I'm afraid it might happen either way," Jaime said. "Because Prince Oberyn knows as well."

"What?" Ned's face grew pale.

"He recognized my squire as Rhaegar's son with Lyanna Stark. The same way I found out. His look."

Ned's hands ran through his hair in a harried way. "I cannot believe this is happening."

"We need to make sure that Prince Oberyn does not say anything," Jaime said. "Invite him over to sup with you and your family. Perhaps we can convince him not to reveal anything."

At that moment, they heard a crash and both of them turned their heads to see Ser Meryn yelling as a small child bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going to, you filthy rat! This is no place for you to be at."

Ser Meryn may have raised fear on a normal child, but this one did not seem to mind whatsoever as he locked eyes with Ned and Jaime before scampering off.

"And we'd better do it fast," Jaime whispered in his ear.

Ned had no choice but to agree.


	12. Daenerys II, Jaime IV

Chapter 11:

**DAENERYS**

"Vaes Dothrak, my queen," Ser Jorah said. "The city of the horselords."

As they approached the homeland of the Dothraki, Daenerys felt her heart beat fastly as she reflected on her life these past few weeks. She had lost her brother to a disease which had taken so many lives in Westeros, making her the last Targaryen and had been proclaimed the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms at her wedding to a stranger, arranged a long time ago by her late brother shortly before his death, in hopes of getting an army to help him take back their father's throne from the Usurper who had killed their older brother in battle and had his dogs murder her brother's wife and children in cold blood. _Remember our House's words, Dany. For when we take back our father's throne, we will rain fire and blood upon all of our enemies, _Viserys had said. His eyes filled with anticipated delight whenever he constantly told Daenerys his plans to save their house. It was all he ever seemed to talk about, his obsession to take back the Iron Throne. It was an obsession that took Viserys to his death, and was now forced upon Daenerys, who had no other choice but to play the game of thrones the lords of Westeros were so fond of playing. Especially when it stood a threat to her and her unborn child.

Daenerys had been shocked, but not completely surprised when she was given the news by her handmaiden Irri, considering how determined she was on her wedding night when she seduced her moon-and-stars, who was still unconvinced of the looming threat upon them and would not even consider his khalasar crossing the Narrow Sea, as they were foreign waters. He also told her he didn't see the point in sitting upon an iron chair as kings and queens had no need for them, only their horse.

Daenerys sighed.

"Khaleesi, are you alright?"

She turned to Ser Jorah, who must have noticed her expression, as he looked at her in worry, so she confided all of her thoughts to him.

"Can't you, at least, make him understand that we are heading the wrong way? The Usurper won't stop until he sees me and my child are dead," Dany said.

"The Dothraki do things for their own reasons," Ser Jorah said. "In their own time. Be patient, Your Grace. We will go home, I promise you."

Daenerys, however, was very unsure about that, but decided not to show it.

"My brother was a fool," she said. "He may have been the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms, but had he been given an army of Dothraki to conquer the Seven Kingdoms with, he would have great difficulty leading them across the Narrow Sea, and not just because they fear the water their horses cannot drink."

Daenerys grumbled the last part out while Jorah smiled.

"Have I said something funny, Ser?"

"Not at all, Your Grace," Ser Jorah said. "It's just... you're finally beginning to speak and act like a true Queen should. However, I must disagree with your evaluation."

Daenerys raised her eyebrow.

"While I agree that your late brother would have great difficulty leading the Dothraki, considering they value only strength and would raise a challenge for King Robert, especially given these circumstances we are in right now, he's still got capable men advising him. Men I had once fought besides a long time ago. Secondly your ancestor Aegon the Conquerer didn't seize six of the kingdoms because they were his right. He had no right to any of them. He seized them because he could."

"And because he had dragons," Dany shot back.

"Well then, having a few dragons makes things easier," Ser Jorah said.

"You don't believe it," Dany observed.

Ser Jorah sighed.

"Have you ever seen a dragon, Your Grace?" he asked. "I believe what my eyes and ears report. As for the rest, it was 300 years ago. Who knows what really happened? Now if you'll pardon me, I must seek out the merchant captain, see if he has any letters for me."

Dany nodded. Ser Jorah's horse trotted forward through the Horse Gate. She observed the rearing bronze stallion statues on each side of the gate, their hooves meeting a hundred feet up.

_So this is to be my new home_, Dany thought. No. Her home was across the Narrow Sea, a home she had never seen before, her family's seat of power stolen from them by the Usurper, who overthrew her father, allowed the deaths of her brpther's wife and children, and who would not stop pursuing her until she and her child, the last of her house, were eliminated. Viserys' death only pushed her more to take the Iron Throne back.

During these past few weeks, Dany and Ser Jorah had gotten along well enough, probably stemming from the fact that he, just like her, was now alone in this world. He had confided in her the truth on how he became an exiled knight: selling some poachers into slavery instead of sending them to the Wall, as by the King's law, to obtain gold to please his wife who in turn left him and settled off in another city with another man. Ned Stark, one of the Usurper's dogs had attempted to deliver the King's Justice to Ser Jorah, who fled from Bear Island, bringing disgrace upon his House. Ser Jorah's face turned somber as he mentioned his late father, who had taken the black so he could rule. Dany's heart went out to him as she could see such a topic affected Ser Jorah greatly.

Dany was brought out of her thoughts when a man stepped in front of her horse and attempted to offer her wine from Dorne. Rakharo, one of her husband's bloodriders, stepped forward to move the man away from her horse, when all of a sudden the wine seller pushed the cask of wine in Rakharo's hands and unsheathed a dagger from his shirt, stabbing Rakharo multiple times before turning on Dany and grabbing her horse, the dagger raised in his hand. However before he could make a strike on Dany, the wine seller's chest burst as Ser Jorah's sword forced its way out of it. The wine seller's eyes gaped in shock before his body went limp and fell to the ground. Ser Jorah removed his sword from the man and sheathed it before turning to Dany, his eyes expressing deep concern.

"Are you alright, Your Grace?"

Dany stared at the wine seller's body for several moments, before turning to Ser Jorah.

"I will be... at the moment," Dany whispered.

Jorah raised his hand to help her off her horse.

"Come," he said before speaking to Aggo in Dothraki. "_Remove the body and search out for more assasins."_

Aggo nodded and shouted orders to the other bloodriders, who scattered in different directions.

Ser Jorah guided Daenerys away until they were safely in her tent.

"Are you sure you're alright, my Queen?" said Ser Jorah.

"No," Dany said. "For as long as I am alive, King Robert will not stop until he sees me dead."

Ser Jorah was silent for a moment, contemplating what to say to her in comfort.

"This assassin was just the first," he finally said. "He will not be the last."

"I knew he would never leave me alone, even with my brother's death," Dany said before closing her eyes and sighing. "He will never leave me alone. Even if I ride to the darkest corners of Asshai or sailed all the way to the Basilisk Isles, his assassins will still follow me. He will never abandon the hunt, for I am a Targaryen." She finally opened her eyes and turned to Ser Jorah. "The last Targaryen. My son will have Targaryen blood with 40,000 riders behind him." She turned her head away before her voice grew determined. "He will not have my son."

Jorah walked up to her and calmly took her hand in his own before kissing it.

"He will not have you either, my Queen," he said.

At that moment, Drogo along with his bloodriders stepped inside the tent. Drogo walked over to Dany and kissed her on the forehead.

"_Are you hurt, moon of my life?" _Drogo said.

Daenerys gently shook her head in disapproval while Drogo turned to Ser Jorah.

_"Jorah the Andal, my bloodriders have found no one else in collaboration with the man you just killed. For that, you may choose any horse you want, it is yours. I make this gift to you." _Drogo then turned back to Daenerys. _"And to my son." _He walked over to Daenerys and knelt before her, pressing his head to her womb. _"The stallion who will mount the world, I will also pledge a gift." _He stood up and turned to his men. _"I will give him the iron chair, that his mother's father sat upon. I will give him Seven Kingdoms. I, Drogo, will do this. I will take my Khalasar west to where the world ends and ride wooden horses across the black salt water as no Khal has done before. I will kill the men in iron suits and tear down their stone houses. I will rape their women, take their children as slaves and bring their broken gods back with me to Vaes Dothrak. This, I vow. I, Drogo, son of Bharbo, swear before the Mother of Mountains as the stars look down in witness! As the stars look down in witness!"_

All of the khalasar roared in approval, while Dany's lips twitched upwards in a smile.

_Finally,_ she thought. _I'm going home._

**JAIME**

As he and Lord Stark were making their way back to the guest quarters that Robert had ordered made for them, they were... annoyed to find out they already had an unexpected and unwanted guest waiting in their chambers.

"Lord Stark," said the guest who nodded his head at both of them. "Lord Jaime."

"Lord Varys."

_Of course it had to be the bloody eunuch who would be waiting at our damn chambers,_ Jaime thought before shrugging mentally. _Thank the gods at least it wasn't Littlefinger, who would've seen to our immediate deaths._

"To what do I owe the pleasure, my lord?" Stark said calmly, although Jaime could tell he was just as annoyed as well.

The Spider seemed to only smile, damn the man.

"An interesting tale has just reached my ears, my lords."

Remembering the child who had run into Meryn Trant, Ned Stark's face turned ghostly pale, while Jaime wanted to take his sword and run it through the Master of Whisperers.

"Do not trouble yourselves, my lords," Varys said. "I do not mean the boy any harm. If it was any other person in my place, the king would order your heads would be on a spike by the end of the day. But alas, I am here."

"What is it that you want, Lord Varys?" said Ned, whose patience was giving out.

"I want to help you, my lords," said Varys.

Jaime laughed bitterly. "Help us? And just why would you want to help us? Or better question, why should we trust you?"

"Because you know as well as I do, _Lord _Jaime, that the realm needs a new ruler. One who can steer it in the right direction," Varys said.

"What you are suggesting is treason!" Lord Stark argued.

"The same could be said about you harboring Rhaegar's son as your bastard," Varys calmly replied, shutting Stark up and making Jaime wanting to take his sword out even more. "Oh yes, I've known for quite a long time, my lord. I am truly surprised you have managed to keep this secret safe for so long." He then turned to Jaime. "And how you've set aside your past differences for the greater good."

"If you've known all this time, why haven't you told Robert about it?" said Lord Stark, who had recovered from that whole ordeal.

"Because our dear friend Robert has been so busy drinking and whoring his way to an early grave and trying to kill the 'last' of the Targaryens, he doesn't notice what things go on under his rule," Varys said, pointing a look at Jaime. "Especially when his own late queen practices things only the Targaryens did with her own twin, who served protecting our king until her death and that of your father's household."

Jaime could already feel his blood boiling as he imagined plunging his sword into the Spider multiple times. His impulsive behavior was what the late Lord Tywin had been so frustrated about as he tried distilling patience into his son. If he had accepted his father's offer, Jaime knew he would have made a horrible lord, on great terms with his bannermen perhaps, but he would have easily overlooked something in a battle and fallen into a trap by one of his enemies, which would throw his lands into chaos.

"Or about our dear friend Lord Baelish," Varys said, catching both of them by surprise. "I am aware that the Lord Hand has been made aware of his wife's indiscretion and the king has also been made aware of Littlefinger taking advantage of the crown's treasury to his own personal benefit. I also know you are looking for evidence to potentially charge Littlefinger, and remove him and Lady Lysa from becoming even further potential threats to the crown, especially if what the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch says is true."

"I trust my brother well enough," said Stark. "He would never lie to me about such a thing."

"And that is admirable, my lord," Varys said. "However your brother's word won't be enough to convince the other lords. They will think of it as nothing but flights of fancy."

"Do you have a suggestion, my lord?"

"Indeed I do. You might suggest to the king to send some men to scout north of the Wall. Perhaps some of the highborn lords could join your brother once he returns back to the Wall. I have a feeling winter might be coming sooner than we hope."

For some reason, all the lords shuddered at the thought, but Ned Stark nodded his head.

"I will talk with the king about it," said Stark. "About Littlefinger--"

"Do not worry about Littlefinger, my lord," Varys said. "I'll bring those ledgers you're looking for by this evening."

"How?" Jaime said. "Littlefinger happens to be the most cleverest man in the Seven Kingdoms now that my brother is dead."

"Yes, your brother," said Varys, who became silent while Jaime wondered what in the seven hells he would say about him. "It's a shame the disease took him away from us. He would have become a very strong player in the game of thrones, one who would help the realm prosper and flourish under his direction."

On that, Jaime agreed. Tyrion, whether his late father chose to admit it or not, would have been a good lord of Casterly Rock, but no, his mother's death and Tyrion's small stature only angered Tywin, who tended to ignore him as best he could.

_It should have been you..._

Jaime closed his eyes.

An uncomfortable silence set in upon the room, before Lord Varys spoke again, "You need not worry, my lords. Littlefinger may be clever in his own right, but I also am clever by my own right as well." He nodded to them before he left.

"Are you alright?" Lord Stark asked.

"When will I ever be?" Jaime replied back, before sighing.

"You did what you could."

"Did I? Then why am I feeling like I haven't done all I could for Tyrion?"

"Because unlike your father," Stark said. "You have a sense of honor about you."

Jaime laughed.

"Honor. How am I honorable, Stark?"

"Because you killed Aerys when he threatened to destroy King's Landing, because you regret everything that your father forced you to do upon Lord Tyrion, because you could've told Robert the truth of Jon, yet instead you didn't because you made an oath to Rhaegar. Because you're helping me remove Littlefinger from power while the Others are returning to wage war upon us once again. I may have misjudged you once, but now I see that deep down you are a good man, Jaime Lannister."

"I wish I could say the same."

Before Ned Stark could respond back, the door opened again, and Jaime had just about had it with the eunuch's antics when he saw it wasn't Varys.

"Ah, my lords," Prince Oberyn grinned. "I believe that there is something we need to discuss."


	13. Eddard V

Chapter 12

**EDDARD**

"Prince Oberyn," Ned Stark said calmly, although deep down he felt otherwise. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"You can spare me your false courtesies, Stark," the Red Viper said. "We all know why I'm here."

"Indeed," Stark frowned. "Lord Jaime also told me after your conversation with him, you left him under the impression that you would... sell off my son's secret to the king when it would convene you at best."

Oberyn laughed bitterly. "Do you honestly take me for a fool, Stark? I'm not as dishonorable as that fat whoremongering bastard who sits on the Iron Throne whom you call a friend and dishonors any woman he gets his hands on or the late Lord Tywin, who had the Mountain see to my sister's death along with her children's just to please the Usurper. If anything, I'm envious of how you managed to keep your sister's offspring safe while all I got was my sister's and her children's bones returned to Dorne. The culprits may be dead, thank the Seven, but I'm afraid that still hasn't satisfied me enough." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I wanted to be the one to kill the Mountain, not his brother who proclaimed himself his executioner upon his arrival in Dorne, although I understand he wanted justice the same way as I did. I nearly succedded, you know?"

Ned and Jaime's eyebrows raised while Oberyn smiled coldly.

"I'm surprised the Hound didn't tell you? Probably wanted me to tell the tale of how I nearly humiliated myself in my poor attempt in killing the Mountain in his prison cell. I paid a visit to him with the intent of torturing him with a slow, painful death. When I came across his unconscious self, I had thought for sure that he was dead after one of his brother's multiple beatings. Foolish me got the idea of calling the guards to unchain him and toss his body into the sea. When they released him from his chains, he surprised one of the guards by taking his sword and spilled out his intestines then overpowered the other guard and snapped his head clean off before he lifted me off the ground and nearly choked the life out of me. Luckily the Hound came to give him another beating and intervened by kicking out the back of his right leg, which allowed me to get free from the Mountain's grasp before his brother started smashing in his head against the bars until all that remained was a headless corpse." Ned and Jaime both gaped in shock at Oberyn, who sighed. "I'm ashamed of how I let my guard down and nearly left my Ellaria and my daughters alone in this world. The gods know what their grief might drive them to do in my absence."

"It might cause them to do unimaginable acts," Ned replied.

"Indeed, Lord Stark," Oberyn said. "As for me, I was not trying to threaten the boy. From what little I have seen of him, he seems to take after your Northern values. Of course, however, with him being squire to the Kingslayer himself, there is no telling what he might become. After all there is a saying which I'm sure you lords know as well. A Targaryen is either destined for greatness and madness. Everytime a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin and the whole world holds its breath in to see which side of the coin it lands on."

"I have raised Jon to be as honorable as the rest of his siblings," Ned defended. "As for him being squire to Lord Jaime, I admit I was distrustful of the man, not knowing his true reasons for killing Aerys, but with time, he has proven himself trustworthy."

"Has he truly proven himself trustworthy when the king has sanctioned a betrothal between your heir and Lord Jaime's bastard with his own sister who Robert still believes is his?"

That caught Ned and Jaime by surprise. They knew of the blossoming romance between Robb and Myrcella at the feast in Winterfell, but had been so preoccupied with the Others' return and keeping Jon's secret it had slipped their minds completely.

"I hold nothing against the girl. After all, in Dorne we see bastards as beings born out of passion not of sin, who scheme to usurp their betters like the other Southerners claim, nor do we hold the children responsible for the acts of their Houses and House Martell happens to be descended from the dragons themselves. But surely both of you are smart enough to know that eventually the truth always comes to light sooner or later. I doubt your bannermen will be pleased to have a bastard born of incest as their liege lord's wife, Lord Stark. I can only imagine how much betrayal your friend can take if he ever finds out _all_ the truths you have been withholding from him. And speaking of your friend, it seems he has enough on his plate with him trying to kill the Targaryen girl across the Narrow Sea."

"What has he done now?" Lord Stark all but demanded.

"Disturbing news has come from afar or so lord Varys says," Prince Oberyn said before sighing. "Daenerys Targaryen has become pregnant from her Dothraki husband."

Ned closed his eyes and sighed while Jaime groaned, "Oh gods! He sent an assassin after her, didn't he?"

"He did," Oberyn grimly nodded. "And failed in the process. It appears the assassin attempted to attack the Princess as her husband's khalasar was entering Vaes Dothrak and only managed to succeed killing one of Khal Drogo's bloodriders before he himself was killed by Ser Jorah Mormont."

Ned's eyes opened wide at that. "Ser Jorah saved Princess Daenerys?"

"He did, and now he has been proclaimed a traitor to the crown," Prince Oberyn corrected. "King Robert has ordered that a raven be sent anonymously to the dragon queen and inform her of her newfound savior's 'true allegiance'." Ned groaned. "Not only that, but Khal Drogo has decided to declare war on Westeros. He and his khalasar left immediately afterwards."

Ned ran his heads through his hair. "How could Robert be so stupid? He already knows we cannot face a war with winter coming upon us."

"Ah yes, the White Walkers," Prince Oberyn said. "I have to admit that I was surprised when I heard the _honorable _Ned Stark had convinced the fat king to send men to the Wall after hearing multiple reports from his brother the new Lord Commander stating the White Walkers had returned. At first, I thought it was a joke, then I figured that it was actually an attempt to trick Robert before removing him and placing your son on the Iron Throne--"

"I have no intention on placing my son on the throne and leaving him to rule in this nest of vipers," Ned said.

"I understand your concerns, Stark," Oberyn said. "Better than anyone. My sister and her children died in this shithole, and the very same man who condoned their deaths expected me to support him killing another defenseless mother and her unborn child while the rest of the Small Council agreed to have her killed. Never have I been so disgusted in all my life... not since Elia's death." Prince Oberyn gazed off as he looked deep in thought, probably remembering the day he was informed of his sister's murder along with her children's.

"What happened next?," Ned said.

"The _king _and I ended up in a heated argument to the point where I ended up knocking his fat ass to the floor when I hit him after he insulted Elia and her children," said Oberyn.

Ned and Jaime looked to Oberyn in shock.

"YOU ASSAULTED ROBERT?!?" Ned shouted. "He could've put you in a black cell or demand Ser Ilyn take your head for doing that."

"Oh he already tried," Oberyn sneered. "Luckily for me, I told him that wasn't necessary and resigned from my position on the Small Council shortly afterwards. Before I left, I told him he was no better than Aerys and he was basically foaming at the mouth after that, making threats. It was a sight to behold."

Ned covered his face with his hands. Why was this happening to him even now? He already had enough problems to deal with, but it seemed like the old gods did not seem to mind placing another problem upon his shoulders.

"Are you completely mad?" Jaime demanded. "Why on earth would you do that, especially knowing Robert's temper?"

"Oh, please. Don't tell me you haven't thought about doing the same thing, Lord Jaime," said Oberyn, who if looks could kill, would have stung Jaime with his glare, which resembled that of a viper's. "Everytime he humiliated your sister whenever he fucked a whore and produced a bastard, with you standing outside his door, did you not feel like going into the room and breaking the man's nose before telling him how horrible of a king he is?"

Jaime's eyes twitched and Ned could see he was on the breaking point.

"PRINCE OBERYN! That is enough!" Ned said.

"I am afraid not, my lord!" Prince Oberyn retorted. "I am only getting started." He strode over to Ned, until they were face-to-face, their noses were barely touching each other. "You demanded from King Robert justice for my sister and her children, when no one else did. You have seen and heard what he has done during his time as king, you cannot tell me that he has done an excellent job maintaining the realm. Do you think after he returns from killing the White Walkers, he'll stop drinking and whoring his way to an early grave?" He shook his head. "No, we all know he'll just fall back into his old ways. Now let me ask you this, Lord Stark: Are you willing to support him as he continue to do as he pleases? Are you willing to support his decision to kill the Targaryen girl and her unborn babe?" Ned Stark was silent while Prince Oberyn's face drew closer and whispered softly, it sounded nearly like a low hiss, "Are you willing to follow him when he demands your nephew's head on a spike?"

Ned Stark's eyes shot up in shock. He was asked that very question not long ago in Winterfell by Lord Jaime when he revealed the truth about Aerys' death.

"I didn't think so," Oberyn said before attempting to leave.

"Why did you come here, Prince Oberyn?"

"To let your nephew know that should he decide to retake the Iron Throne for his family, I will support him," the Dornish Prince said before leaving.

Stark stood there, staring at the door for a while before Jaime stood next to him.

"He's not wrong, you know?" Jaime finally said, which got Stark to turn around and look at him. "Westeros cannot keep going like this any longer, being ruled by selfish lords who care not what happens to the smallfolk, who are getting sicker and sicker every day. May the gods help us when the White Walkers do come."

Eddard shuddered at that before turning to Jaime.

"You would have me declare war on my friend?"

"It's probably for the best, Stark. I hate to admit it, but Prince Oberyn does prove an excellent point. What if Robert eventually finds out about Myrcella sooner or later, and decides to wipe out not just us but all of House Lannister? Sooner or later he's going to be paranoid as to which Houses are loyal to him and which ones are not."

Ned kept silent, thinking of Jon, his sister's son. If Robert ever found out the truth and demanded Ned to bring the 'dragonspawn's' head to him, he knew he would have no other choice but to go to war with Robert, to protect his sister's son.

"Not only that, but Myrcella will end up having to break her betrothal to your son and end up losing what little happiness she has left. Yes, your friend Lord Arryn promised not to reveal her secret, since Myrcella is technically not a threat to the crown's succession, but Robert won't give a shit when he finds out Cersei and I have been cuckolding him behind his back, planning to put our eldest son on the throne after he died, even though they are dead. He will only see her as _lionspawn_ and proceed to do to my House what he did with the Targaryens. We need to consider the possibility of removing Robert from the Iron Throne."

"No," Ned insisted. "That is out of the question."

"I wasn't saying we do it," Jaime said. "I was saying--"

"I heard what you said," Ned said. "But I can't. I made a promise."

"Yes, to the boy's mother," said Jaime. "But surely you must realize that Robert will find out his secret sooner or later, whether by taking a closer look at the boy or finding out elsewhere. What good will your promise be by then?"

Ned said nothing.

"Just think about it," Jaime said before he got out and left his quarters.

Ned sighed before he threw himself onto the bed in front of him.


	14. Daenerys III, Catelyn I

Chapter 13

**DAENERYS**

After Khal Drogo's khalasar arrived in Lhazar, they proceeded to attack its populace and burn its buildings. As Dany and the rest of her company walked through the ravaged area to examine the damage.

"What did they do?," Dany asked.

"Apparently the lamb men make good slaves," Ser Jorah explained. "Khal Drogo will make gifts of them to the slavers. In turn, they will give us gold... and silks and steel."

"I never thought the Dothraki invested in gold," Dany said.

"They must, if they are to provide the ships to sail to Westeros and take back your family's throne," Ser Jorah replied.

As they continued to walk, Dany's eyes came across some of the Dothraki looting and others holding the Lhazareen captive.

"Ser Jorah, I command you to make them stop," Dany said, her voice held firm in resolve.

"Khaleesi?"

"You heard me the first time. I command you to make them stop."

"Your Grace," Ser Jorah began. "You have a gentle heart, but this is how life has always been for the Dothraki. These men have shed blood for their Khal. Now they come to claim their rewards."

"I do not have a gentle heart, Ser," Dany said harshly. "Either you do as I command, or I shall inform my husband why you refused to do so."

It wasn't until after she said those words, she noticed her increased breathing and Ser Jorah staring at her shock and perhaps fear.

"Of course, Your Grace," Ser Jorah murmured. "I shall see to it at once."

Before she could apologize for her harshness, Ser Jorah walked off to the nearest Dothraki, who was forcing himself on a young Lhazareen girl. When Ser Jorah spoke to the Dothraki, the man spat in Ser Jorah's face and said, "_That foreign whore does not command me."_ Ser Jorah's grip tightened around his sword while Dany's anger seemed to burn hotly as a dragon's fire, but she attempted to be civilized to the man.

_"I am Khaleesi,"_ Dany said. "_I do command you. Do you see how fierce I grow? That is your khal's son inside me, the stallion that will mount the world. Filling me with his fire. I will not hear anymore of this... _Ser Jorah, what is his name?"

"Mago, your grace," Ser Jorah said.

Dany then walked up to Mago and looked at him, realizing he was one of her husband's bloodriders.

_"By order of your Khal, go find some other place to stick your cock in," _Daenerys spat with as much fire as she possibly could, before walking away.

_"Fuck you, dragon slut," _said Mago. Daenerys turned around at that just in time to see him unsheathing his sword and advancing towards her._ "Perhaps I'll stick my cock in you."_ Ser Jorah drew his sword out as well and parried his blade.

_"No further, horselord," _said Ser Jorah.

Qotho then lunged at Ser Jorah, who drew away from Daenerys, who called for the other bloodriders. Ser Jorah seemed to be having the upper hand, until Qotho sucker punched him in the face before he slashed Ser Jorah's chest, tearing his shirt and leaving a bloody mark on him.

"NO!" Dany screamed.

Ser Jorah was taken back by surprise, but not for long as Qotho attempted to remove his head from the rest of his body. Ser Jorah ducked and continued to dodged his attacks broughbrought on by Mago's blind rage until the Dothraki kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Mago kneeled over him and raised his sword in the air ready to deliver the killing blow... until a strong hand shot out and grabbed Mago's arm, crushing it and causing him to cry out and drop his sword. When Mago held his crushed arm in pain, he looked up in hate, which immediately disappeared once he saw the fate of his khal, who glared strongly at him.

_"I will not have your body burned. I will not give you that honor,"_ said Khal Drogo.

The entire khalasar stood silent while listening to their khal's words, including Mago, who trembled in slight fear.

_"The beetles will feed on your corpse and the worms shall crawl through your lungs," _Drogo continued, condemning the man_._

_"Forgive me, my khal," _said Mago, who decided to beg for his life, although Drogo did not seem to hear him.

_"The rain will fall on your rotting skin," _said Drogo, who bent down and caught Mago's throat in his grasp, before standing. _"Until nothing is left of you but bones!"_

At that moment, Drogo crushed the man's throat before pulling out his tongue and letting Mago's limp body fall to the ground. Drogo raised the tongue up in the air for all to see before tossing it into the nearest flaming building.

_"Are you well, moon of my life?" _said Drogo. _"Why did my bloodrider attack Ser Jorah like that?"_

_"Ser Jorah defended me once again, my sun and stars, when I commanded that he and the other Dothraki stop mounting the women," _Dany explained.

Drogo cupped Dany's cheek in his hand.

_"This is the way of war, my love," _Drogo spoke softly._ "These women are slaves now to do with as we please."_

_"It pleases me to keep them safe," Dany said. "If your riders would mount them, let them take them for wifes."_

_"Does the horse mate with the lamb?" _spoke Qotho, another of Drogo's bloodriders.

_"The dragons feed on horse and lamb alike_," Dany said.

"That it does, Your Grace," moaned Ser Jorah softly.

It was there Dany and the others wwent to him, with Qotho and Drogo picking up Ser Jorah, who looked a bit worse for wear.

"How are you feeling?," Dany asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Quite alright," Ser Jorah said, although Dany did not believe him. "Nothing but the bite of a fly."

"Where are the healers?" Dany all but demanded.

"I can help him, Your Grace," spoke a feminine voice.

At that moment, a heavyset, flat-nosed woman with black hair stepped out amongst the Lhazareen crowd who had gathered when they witnessed the fight between Ser Jorah and the late Mago.

_"Stand back," _Qotho barked at the woman_. "The khalasar need no help with slaves who lie with sheep."_

_"Let her speak," _Dany ordered before turning to the woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mirri Maz Duur," the woman spoke. "I was the Godswife of the Temple here."

_"Witch,"_ spat Qotho.

Dany glared at him, before narrowing her eyes at the woman. "Why did you call me Your Grace?"

"You are royalty after all, Khaleesi," said Mirri, who tilted her head. "Or shall I call you Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the last dragon?"

Daenerys' eyes widened as did Ser Jorah's, while Drogo held her tightly in his arms as Qotho took out his sword and held it to the witch's throat at hearing his khaleesi's name. The woman merely smiled, however.

"Oh yes," said Mirri. "Even here in Lhazar, your story is well known and your intents to take back your family's throne."

Qotho hit the woman in the face with the pommel of his sword, knocking her to the ground. The woman appeared unfazed.

_"She knows who you are, Khaleesi,"_ Qotho said while looking to Dany for approval to kill Mirri. _"We cannot trust her."_

_"Bring her to me," _Dany said.

_"But--"_

_"It is not your khal who is injured," Dany said. "We must allow her to heal Ser Jorah, let her pass."_

Qotho looked to Drogo, who nodded, before he lowered his sword from the woman's throat.

"Thank you, Your Grace," said Mirri, who fell on her knees before Dany. "I am forever in your debt."

"Do not thank me yet," Dany said, her tone filled with steel. "And you can start by repaying your debt by healing this man." Dany turned to Ser Jorah, who looked at her in question. Mirri moved to heal him, until Dany gripped her arm in hers. "But if I find out you've been lying to me in any way, I will leave you to the mercy of the khalasar. Do you understand?"

Mirri looked to Dany, her eyes widening in slight shock, while her face failed to express anything, before she nodded in acceptance.

"I understand," she said before Dany let her go to tend to Ser Jorah.

**CATELYN**

Life resumed peacefully at Winterfell ever since Ned had left with the king to King's Landing, while Robb had taken upon himself to act as lord of Winterfell in his father's stead and was managing himself well with the babe Rickon tagging after her when Robb was too busy with his lordly duties... or spending time with his betrothed.

Catelyn had been disappointed when Ned told her Robert had intended to betroth their son to Princess Myrcella, knowing her true origins. What had outraged her even more was the fact that Jon Arryn had sent a message telling them to keep the truth hidden. Of course Catelyn understood his concerns about a war between the Crown and the Lannisters could divide the realm even more especially since winter was coming, but how could she just allow their son to be betrothed to a... bastard, especially one born of incest?

Catelyn had aspirations of marrying Robb to a daughter of one of her father's bannerman, as long as it wasn't the late Walder Frey, who apparently wasn't _late_ when it came to the fever despite his old age. Apparently he had heard the rumors of Myrcella and her betrothal to Robb, and had sent a raven, asking for her son's hand in marriage to one of his daughters along with betrothing Myrcella to "one of my lot, in case she does turn out to be a bastard of lions".

Robb had been so angry that he crunched the parchment in his fists and threw it in the fire. He then went off to find Myrcella, whose eyes seemed to light up as his did whenever they were in the same room. Catelyn sighed and thought about whether her judgment of bastards had clouded her mind.

For most of her life, she had been taught about how the Blackfyres and how they unsuccessfully rebelled against House Targaryen to the point of extinction. Then from there, she had just assumed that all bastards would try to usurp their way to power by killing their trueborn half-siblings. Much like the Boltons intended to do before their untimely deaths. And her assumptions had led her to take out her rage on Jon.

Jon. The boy who she thought of as a mark on her husband's honor, who she had sought to make his life miserable here in Winterfell, who she had prayed to all the new gods to remove him from this earth so he could not usurp Robb in any way, but later regretted doing so after the boy became ill and finding out who his mother was.

It still upset Catelyn to this day that all this time that Ned had lied to her. Of course they didn't know each other well during the war, but he should've said something after, not wait until after she discovered the truth herself accidentally. She understood he wanted to keep the boy safe from Robert, who would kill him on sight with no hesitation, but still she felt ashamed of herself treating the boy with complete and utter disdain. It had taken a long time for Jon and her to have a proper conversation without it seeming awkward, but in the end she had kept her promise to the gods to try to be a mother to him by calling for him to be legitimized and allowing him to sit with the rest of the household.

When the king had arrived in Winterfell and engaged in multiple staredowns with Jon, she feared that it would be the end for her family. Fortunately however, the king did not appear to be aware of Jon's true heritage, although she kept praying in the sept for the gods to protect him and his siblings' well-being in the capital. Speaking of the capital, a raven had been sent from Ned, detailing her and Robb of all the goings-on of the Red Keep. Catelyn had been shocked when Ned had written to her of what Petyr Baelish had been up to. Making rumors of taking her maidenhood along with Lysa's, who turned out to be having an affair with him which had resulted in her son Robin's birth, and then practically using the crown's treasury for his own benefit... Catelyn didn't want to believe it, but her heart told her otherwise. She had ended up breaking down in tears at how far her childhood friend had fallen, dragging Lysa down with him in ruin, while Robb quickly went to hug his mother.

After a moment of comfort from her son, they continued reading the letter and to their surprise and fear, Jon Arryn, Varys and Prince Oberyn Martell, who had arrived in the capital from Dorne along with his lover to take a position on the Small Council which turned out to be short-lived however when he ended up in an altercation with Robert, who had sent an assassin after Daenerys Targaryen, who had wed some Dothraki horselord and was now pregnant, had ended up finding out Jon's identity the moment they laid eyes on him with the latter swearing fealty to him if he decided to take the Iron Throne.

Catelyn ended up fainting at that news before coming to in her chambers several hours later. Robb had told her that Ned and the others were safe in King's Landing...for now, before telling her that he would be sending Theon to the Iron Islands to warn them of the upcoming Long Night and to prove himself especially after the way he humiliated Myrcella at the king's feast.

"Are you mad?!" Catelyn shouted. "By what right do you think that Balon Greyjoy will decide to fight with us against the White Walkers?"

"By rights as the acting Lord of Winterfell," Robb said. "We need his ships. They say he has 200."

"They say a million rats live in the sewers of King's Landing," Catelyn spat. "Shall we rally them to fight for us?"

Catelyn stood up to get up from the bed, while Robb held her hand.

"I know you don't trust Lord Greyjoy," said Robb. "I understand that he is not trustworthy. Father had to go to war to end his rebellion. But the Long Night is coming once again. And we need to stand together... all of us."

Catelyn shook her head and Robb sighed before releasing her hand and calling for Maester Luwin to bring her essence of nightshade to help her sleep.

The next day, she had gone out to the sept to say her prayers for her family when a female voice, with the rough accent of the North, spoke behind her: "They can hear you, y'know?"

Catelyn's eyes shot up before she turned to see the latest visitor in Winterfell. Robb and Theon had been practicing archery in the woods, with Rickon trailing behind them until he grew bored and wandered off into the deepest parts of the woods, crossing paths with several wildlings who had crossed the Wall, most likely trying to head as far south as they could to get away from the White Walkers. Robb had killed most of the wildlings until the wildling leader held a knife to Rickon's throat. Theon, with quick thinking, had shot an arrow through the wildling's back. When they returned to the castle, Rickon had been crying for hours while Robb and Theon had brought with them a wildling woman named Osha, the only female in the group. Had it not been for the fact that she knew the White Walkers were coming along and that she was the only one who showed a hint of mercy to her son, Catelyn was sure she would have argued for her execution. Now, however, she was relieved she didn't.

After careful interrogation with the woman and verifying their suspicions of the White Walkers, Robb had allowed her quarters and work around Winterfell on the sole condition that she never rise up against them. Not that she appeared to have any reason to, given how close Rickon and her had become after their first encounter, due to his curiosity about the newcomer who volunteered to watch him while Robb, Catelyn, and the other servants were busy.

"Who can hear me?" Catelyn asked, her voice managing to stay neutral at the unwanted distraction.

"The Old Gods," Osha said. "They are answering your prayers."

Catelyn frowned. "I wasn't raised in my husband's faith."

"No, but you accepted them the moment you became his wife."

Catelyn was silent for a few seconds, before continuing. "What did you mean by hearing the gods?"

"Listen," Osha said. "Open your ears."

And so Catelyn did, despite her reluctance and growing bafflement for this strange woman, before her frustration gave out.

"It's just the wind," Catelyn said.

Osha sighed.

"Who do you think sends the winds, if not the Gods? They see you, milady," Osha said, emphasizing the last word as if she never used it before. "They hear you. The Old Gods don't have any power in the South. The weirwoods were cut down a long time ago. How can they watch when they have no eyes?"

"The new gods watch over my family," Catelyn argued.

"In the South. But what good are they in the North when _winter is coming_?" Osha said.

Catelyn swallowed the lump in her throat before hesitating, trying to find a way to take back the conversation and put the woman at ease. "It is a good thing you crossed the Wall as soon as you could. It's a shame for the others, but hopefully my husband and goodbrother will convince the king and the other lords to fight off the White Walkers once and for all."

"Good," Osha said before walking away. "Cuz' the cold winds are rising."

As she watched the woman leave, Catelyn felt a strong cool breeze from the sept's entrance and decided to make another prayer.


	15. Jaime V

Chapter 14

**JAIME**

The Spider had kept his word. He and Ned Stark had been suspicious of Varys helping them with Littlefinger ever since he paid them a visit when he revealed his knowing their respective secrets, which only made them all the more worried, especially since Prince Oberyn and Jon Arryn found out who Jaime's new squire really was, that Varys might deliver this information to the king himself or through one of his little birds. Instead he kept quiet and provided them the ledgers disclosing the Crown's financial transactions.

They had secretly met with Robert and Jon Arryn, who both appeared to be pissed that Littlefinger had been playing them fools, and after carefully reviewing the situation, the King and his Hand had at first wanted to send Littlefinger to the Wall, a fitting punishment for all how far he had fallen, before Ned Stark, Jaime, and Varys argued that keeping Littlefinger alive was a terrible idea since he had many resources and could escape anywhere, possibly even Essos.

Robert's face reddened even further at the implications before calling his guards to bring in Littlefinger. A few hours later, everyone had gathered in the throne room where he was brought in... not too surprisingly with Lysa Arryn being accosted by two guards, while her son was crying and kicking against their armor to make them let her go.

"Let my Petyr go!" Lysa shouted before her words died in her throat when she saw her husband, who glared at her. "Jon, my love..."

"Lysa Tully, by order of King Robert and my own, our marriage is annulled as of this day," Jon said, his tone steely. "You..." He looked to Robin, who stared back with teary eyes, before looking back to Lysa. "...and your bastard son with Petyr Baelish..." The crowd gasped, while Littlefinger stared in shock, Lysa glared angrily at her now-former husband, while Robin sobbed even more. "...will relinquish any titles and claims to the Eyrie. You shall not step forth in my lands again. Doing so will mean forfeit to your life." Ned, Jaime and Robert stared at him in shock, while Littlefinger and Lysa blanched. "Any belongings you have there will be sent to Riverrun, where you will return to your childhood home where the boy will be legitimized as a _Tully_." He spat the last word out, glaring at Littlefinger, letting him know he will not name Robin his heir.

"What about Petyr?" Lysa sobbed. "What will happen to Petyr?"

Jon opened his mouth to speak, but Robert beat him to it. "Petyr Baelish, you stand accused of bribery and corruption, of using gold from _my_ treasury for your own purposes. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, Your Grace," Baelish said immediately. "This is an outrageous accusation. By what grounds do you have arresting me and Lady Lysa on false charges?"

"The fact she called you her Petyr," Robert roared, leaving Littlefinger speechless. "The fact that her son Robin looks nothing like Jon and looks more like you. The fact that we have went through the crown's financial ledgers and found some discrepancies made on your part. The fact that while our coffers seems to be emptying and yours seems to be filling up. The fact that multiple witnesses have come forward and stated that YOU were the one to start up the false rumors of you taking Catelyn Stark's maidenhood along with Myrcella not being my child!"

Baelish seemed to blush nervously while Lady Lysa appeared to be fuming.

"How dare you accuse my Petyr of taking my empty-headed whore of a sister as a woman?" Lysa screeched.

"May I remind you that you are speaking of my wife?" Ned stated coldly. "And that her children are in this gallery right now?"

"Oh yes," Lysa sneered. "Your daughters. One looks exactly like my sister and the other is as wild as her aunt. I've seen the way the older one had my Petyr looking at her." Jaime looked at Lady Sansa, who looked in shock at what her aunt was saying, while Arya was glaring daggers at her. "Whores, just like their mother and your sister."

The whole gallery gaped loudly at her declaration while Robert shot up from his throne and charged down at Lysa, his hand grabbing her throat, and lifting her up in a chokehold.

"Your Grace!" Ned and Jon shouted, while Jaime stared in shock at the whole scene while Robert glared mightily at Lysa.

"How dare you slander my Lyanna, you traitorous slut?" he roared.

"Slander?" Lysa glared defiantly at Robert. "Not slander, _Your Grace. _Petyr had me burn that wolf bitch's letter she left at Riverrun."

"Lysa, don't--"

"Letter?" Ned said. "What letter?"

Lysa smirked coldly at Ned while Robert's hand loosened his grip on her throat as anger and confusion seemed to mix.

"She left a letter to her brother Brandon, saying she didn't wish to become another of your playthings. Not that you would mind since you're so busy fucking every whore in Westeros. What's one less whore to you?"

Robert's hand squeezed harder on Lysa, who flailed about helplessly

"ROBERT!" Jon and Ned shouted.

"What else did this letter say?" Robert said quietly, his grip loosening for her to speak while his anger still boiled.

"She ran off willingly with the Dragonprince to escape marrying you shortly after he crowned her the queen of love and beauty at Harrenhal."

"LIES!" Robert roared, while pressing her throat even tighter.

"Is it...Your Grace?" Lysa spoke softly as she flailed more and more in his grip. "Or can you not stand the fact that your Lyanna... was so disgusted by your whoremongering ways... the same way that your wife was before she spread her legs for her own twin?"

Robert kept squeezing even further despite the protests from the ground until a snap was heard and Lysa Tully's body stopped struggling against him before he released her limp body, which fell to the ground in a heap. Robert sat back down on the throne while glaring at Littlefinger.

"Ser Ilyn," Robert sighed. "Bring me his head."

The gallery broke out in pandemonium as Jory and Benjen took hold of Sansa, Arya respectively to remove them from the grounds while Robin was crying, "MOTHER!"

"Robert, this is madness!" Jon shouted, while Ned unsuccessfully tried to talk down the king, while Jaime just stood there frozen in shock.

The kingsguard unsheathed their swords, holding back anyone from the crowd who attempted to intervene, while Varys joined Ned to talk some sense into Robert, who glared mightily at the former Master of Coin who was forced down on his knees as Ser Ilyn took out his longsword. The roars of the crowd were so deafening that Jaime heard nothing as he saw Ser Ilyn's longsword cut down upon Petyr Baelish's neck separating his head from his body.

The whole gallery shouted in approval at the display, while Robert held up the late Littlefinger's head in his hand before passing it off to Ser Ilyn and demanding someone remove Lysa Tully's body from the throne room, taking the boy Robin who could not be comforted from his mother's death. Ned Stark and Jon Arryn shook their heads in disapproval while Jaime had sympathy for the lad, after all he knew what it was like to lose his mother at a young age, albeit under different circumstances.

"I hope you're pleased with yourself, Robert," Ned said. "Not only did you unceremoniously murder Hoster Tully's youngest daughter in cold blood, you made his grandson an orphan."

"And a bastard one at that," Robert snapped. "Please don't give out another lecture about honor, Ned. I'm not in the mood for it."

"When were you ever?" Ned said, causing Robert to look at him just as he was about to leave. But before he could do so, a child quickly ran up to them from amongst the crowd.

"My lord," the boy said. "News from the Wall."

Jaime and the others looked at each other in anticipation and worry. Varys quickly took the message from the boy and broke the seal before silently reading it. His face did not reveal any expression, but Jaime saw his lips forming a thin line at that before he looked up at them.

"Your Grace," Varys said in a somber expression. "My lords. I am afraid that there has been an attack on Castle Black."

The gallery gasped in shock again while the Small Council looked to each other with knowing glances. Benjen moved forward, his expression pale.

"From the wildlings?" Benjen said, although his face started to express the same fear as the others.

"No, Lord Commander," said Varys. "I'm afraid it isn't the wildlings."

Benjen stumbled back while one person in the gallery shouted, "But the White Walkers have been gone for thousands of years. How is it they have returned?"

Robert looked to Ned Stark and nodded his head.

"His Grace and I have long had suspicions over the White Walkers' return," said Ned. "Over the years, the numbers of the Night's Watch have been dwindling down while more and more wildlings have been crossing the Wall each year. Obviously there is a pattern between the two and now it looks like our fears have only been confirmed."

"Indeed," Varys said. "And what's even worse, the cold winds are rising and this disease does not help matters any better."

"What happened?" Benjen all but demanded.

"Apparently when the newest recruits had taken their oaths at the Night's Watch they came upon the bodies of three Rangers outside the Wall."

"Who was it?!"

"Jafer Flowers, Othor... and Ser Alliser Thorne."

"Thorne?" Robert shouted. "The dragonlover who supported that cunt Rhaegar? Thank the gods."

"I'm afraid that's where it gets worse, your Grace," Varys said. "Apparently all three of them rose up from the dead...along with all the recruits who died of the disease and attacked the Night's Watch while they were asleep." There was an intense silence throughout the room as Varys spoke. "By the time they realized what was happening, the wights had succeeded in killing Bowen Marsh, along with most of the sick and a few recruits who died fighting before Marsh's steward Eddidon Tollett swung a torch at the wights, killing them. The rest joined in and dispelled the wights, but there is no telling on when they may attack again. They request that we send men immediately and eagerly await their Lord Commander's orders."

Everyone was silent after that until someone began shouting, "What are we waiting for? Let's send men to the wall to kill the ice bastards."

The others followed, shouting "SEND MEN TO THE WALL! SEND MEN TO THE WALL! SEND MEN TO THE WALL!"

Jaime looked at Ned, who looked relieved that they had obtained their goal. Now the question was whether that would be enough to fight for the Dawn once again.


	16. Daenerys IV

Chapter 15

**DAENERYS**

As Drogo led the Dothraki ahead, Daenerys rode along close with Ser Jorah, who looked... exhausted, to say the least. She caught him when he nearly fell off his horse.

"Father..." Jorah murmured.

Dany hollered ahead to her husband for the Dothraki to make camp here for the night. Drogo looked back and saw how delicate Jorah was, before riding up next to her and spoke calmly to her.

_"I am sorry, my love," _said Drogo._ "But you know he cannot ride for much longer."_

_"He's tired, that's all," _Daenerys defended.

_"He__ needs to rest. We've ridden far enoigh today. We'll camp here."_

_"I understand you care very deeply for this man," _said Drogo, who lifted Dany's chin with his hand. _"He is from your land. But you must see that he will die soon enough."_

_"He can't,"_ Daenerys said, her voice becoming desperate. _"I won't let him. Bring me the woman."_

_"My khalasar would much rather see her head removed from the rest of her body," _Drogo said.

_"Tell them she is to be unharmed,"_ Dany all but demanded.

Drogo said nothing, merely kissed her forehead before riding to the khalasar shouting orders to make camp.

"Father..." Jorah murmured.

"Hush, Ser Jorah," Dany said. "Don't say a word."

"I'm so sorry, father," Jorah continued. "I broight shame to our House. Please forgive me."

Dany said nothing. After her rescue from the Usurper's assassin and Drogo's declaration of war on Westeros, Jorah had stepped out of the tent with a sadness on his face that was unbecoming of him. When she asked what was wrong, he told her that his father had become another victim of the disease in Westeros, and his dreams of making amends with his father were for naught. She comforted him by saying that their loved ones will always remain in their hearts and surely his father would not stand to see him so quickly defeated. She promised to pardon him of his past crimes whenever she took back the Iron Throne. Before they left Vaes Dothrak, a quick ritual was done for the Stallion that Rides which involved Dany eating a horse's entire heart amongst chanting from the Dothraki, which only grew louder and louder the more she devoured it, with Drogo looking on. Despite having the urge to vomit once she consumed it all, she resisted before loudly declaring that a prince rode inside her and his name would be Rhaego, after the brother who fell in battle against the Usurper.

The Dothraki chanted "Rhaego! Rhaego!" as Drogo picked up Daenerys by hugging her thighs and carried her around the room. When she got a chance to speak with Ser Jorah, who gave a sad smile and told her today, she was truly a queen."

As Daenerys opened the container holding her dragon eggs, she was startled when she noticed a young boy staring at her.

"Who are you?" Dany said with determination, despite the raised beating of her heart. "Where did you come from?"

"King Robert send his regards," the boy said causing Dany's eyes to widen in absolute shock, before he immediately handed a scroll to Daenerys before hurriedly running out of the tent.

When Dany opened it up, she felt like her world would fall to pieces. She took a moment to recompose herself before she walked out of the tent with a steely resolve and barked in Dothraki for her husband before she strode towards the tent where Mirri and Jorah Mormont were.

Mormont seemed to have recovered a bit, although not quite, for he looked to his khaleesi before giving a small smile.

Dany did not smile back, only glared at the man who she confided in these past few months before tossing the letter she had received in front of him while Drogo and his bloodriders entered the tent at that moment.

Jorah looked to Dany in confusion before picking up the letter and after reading it, his eyes widened and looked to her in fear.

"Where did you get this?" Jorah murmured.

"It matters not how I got it," Dany said coldly. "What matters is why the usurper decided to pardon you at this very moment?"

Jorah looked at Drogo, as did Dany, and she had never seen her husband so frightenfully calm and intimidating, not even at their own wedding.

"May I please speak with you in private?" Jorah asked quietly.

"You will speak to me now," Dany snapped. "Explain."

"Who do you think had this message sent? Who has the most to benefit from this? Robert Baratheon. Can't you not see what he wants to do here? He wants to divide us. If we're fighting each other, that distracts us from fighting him."

"Us?" Dany raised her eyebrows. "There is no 'us'." Dany paused before calmly continuing. "This pardon is just made recent. Why were you pardoned? Unless this document is forged."

"It's not," Ser Jorah sighed. "I sent letters to Varys, the spymaster in King's Landing."

Dany scowled.

"And what was the content of these letters?"

"Information."

"Information to what?"

"My Queen, please," Jorah begged, his eyes tearing up at her.

"I... am not... your Queen," Dany hissed. "You will answer me at this very moment. What information did you give?"

Jorah looked down shamefully. "When you and Viserys arrived in Pentos. His plan to marry you to Drogo before his death." Drogo held Dany closely in his arms as he glared daggers at the man who had betrayed them.

"Did you tell him I am carrying Drogo's child?"

"I..."

"Did you or did you not tell King Robert I am carrying Drogo's child?"

"Yes," Jorah said, tears streaming down his eyes.

"That wine merchant almost killed me and my child while attempting to do so."

"I stopped him from doing so."

"BECAUSE YOU KNEW!," Dany screamed. "And in return, he killed Rakharo." Drogo and the other bloodroders gripped their swords at the memory of their blood brother. Dany was huffing until she spoke again. "You betrayed me fron the start. You sold my secrets to the man who killed my brother and stole my father's throne. For that you shall surely die."

"Daenerys, please," said Jorah, who crawled towards her, while struggling to do so. When he attempted to grab her hand, he was met with a fist to the face from Drogo, causing him to spit out blood.

_"You." _Drogo growled. "_You came into our camp." _Qotho and Cohollo held up Ser Jorah by each arm while Drogo kept delivering another devastating blow after blow to Ser Jorah's face. _"You ate with us. You fought with us. You killed with us. And now we find out you schemed with those who wish to have the moon of my life and MY CHILD dead?" _Drogo then pulled Jorah's hair back before delivering a punch to his stomach, causing the man to cough violently and vomit mixed with blood before he and the bloodriders let him drop to the floor, all looking down at him. _"You are no true man." _He turned to Daenerys, his expression softening. _"Shall we kill him now, my love?"_

Dany looked at Ser Jorah, who struggled to speak, but his eyes pleadingly begged for her. She would not be tricked again. Not this time. _"Tonight, my love." _Ser Jorah closed his eyes in defeat, while Dany turned to walk away.

"What about the witch?" Qotho said. "I say we have our fun with her."

Dany turned around and looked to Mirri with consideration before her expression changed coldly.

_"No," _Dany said. _"She joins her people... and the Great Shepherd tonight along with Ser Jorah."_

"You can't do this," Mirri shrieked before the bloodriders accosted her. "You need me, Your Grace."

"Do I now?" Dany said, causing Mirri to glare at her. "Or do you take me for a fool that I am not aware that you want revenge for your people?" Mirri's eyes widened, before narrowing again at Dany. "Did you really think I would not recognize that you have lost just as much as me, which has only caused you to get back at those responsible?"

"You're no better than your father," Mirri spat in Dany's face.

"No," Dany said softly. "I'm not. But at least I know not to trust a complete stranger who means to do more harm than good."

A few hours later, when the sun had finally disappeared, all the Dothraki had gathered together as Dany had ordered a pyre to be built and had placed the container with the dragon's eggs inside it, before Drogo walked up to her.

_"Are you sure this is your command, moon of my life?"_ Drogo said.

Dany turned to him and smiled gently. _"I am sure, my sun and stars."_

Drogo nodded softly before walking away as Mirri was being dragged by Qotho and Cohollo until they stopped in front of the pyre

"May the Great Shepherd condemn you and your quest for the throne that your ancestors have sat upon, Daenerys Targaryen," Mirri said. "Your quest for revenge against the Usurper has already cost you a valuable ally. Soon it will cost you your family and your armies until in the end, after the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, you will come face to face with another dragon, one with more claim to the Iron Throne than you ever will."

Dany would have retorted at that, but the bloodriders moved Mirri to the center of the pyre and bound her.

_"Where is the Khaleesi?_ _Let me speak with her."_

When Jorah finally arrived to the front, he locked eyes with her before finally coming across the pyre behind her, before finally coming back to her.

"No," Jorah said, his voice breaking.

Dany looked away to the Dothraki and Lhazareen. _"You will be my khalasar. I see the faces of slaves. I free you." _Some of the bloodriders hurled insults at her, while Drogo raised up his hand to silence them. "Take off your collars. Go if you wish, no one will stop you. But if you stay it will be as brothers and sisters, as husbands and wives."

"Dany, please don't do this," Ser Jorah cried as he was led to the pyre and was also bound like Mirri.

"l am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen of the blood of old Valyria. I am the Dragon's daughter. And I swear to you that those who would harm you will die screaming."

"Please, Dany!"

"You will not hear me scream," Mirri sneered at Dany in disgust.

"I will, but it's not your screams I want. Only your lives."

"Dany, don't do this!"

Dany then turned in Ser Jorah's direction and walked up to him. For a moment she stood still, staring at him. Then her hand lied upon his bounds... before kissing him fully on the cheek and walking away after doing so.

"NO!," Jorah shouted. "Dany, please don't do this!"

Daenerys grabbed a torch from Drogo, who passed it to her and lit the pyre on fire. As it grew closer, Mirri started uttering some incantations while Jorah screamed "Dany, I love you!" before the flames began to consume them.

A tear fell on Dany's cheek, before she walked into the burning pyre, her dress catching fire until it consumed everything until she heard three cracks. When she looked down, she was not too surprised at what she saw. After all, she had dreamt of this moment happening. When she stepped out, Drogo looked on in pride while the bloodriders were shocked as the rest of the khalasar. In unison they all bent the knee to her, uttering "Blood of my blood," as they caught sight of the three baby dragons screeching on her arms and back.

**A/N**: I know some of you are most definitely going to be downright furious with me killing Ser Jorah and making Dany the Mad Queen in this story. But you have to understand here that Dany is the last Targaryen, or at least that's how she sees it in her mind. She's already lost Viserys to the virus, Illyrio has taught her to be political-savvy, Robert is alive and out to kill her and her child, which means she has to survive through whatever means necessary. Her feelings on Ser Jorah do not matter much when it comes to playing the game of thrones, after all there is no middle ground. You either win or you die. And Dany is most definitely wanting to win. My plan was always for Westeros to be facing war on multiple fronts. The only question is will they be able to survive through all of them? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and share your thoughts down below. Next time we will be dropping in on Arya's POV in King's Landing.


	17. Arya II

Chapter 16

**ARYA**

Arya was bored.

It seemed there wasn't much to do in the Red Keep despite the changes that came with her father being named the new Master of Coin after the man called Littlefinger (Arya had been amused and curious as she didn't understand the meaning behind the name) had been executed by the king after it was discovered that he had been stealing from his gold purse. And that was after he killed her Aunt Lysa, who had decided to call her, Sansa, their mother and their late aunt Lyanna, who Arya was told by many people she resembled her in both appearance and personality, and was thought to have been kidnapped by the dragonprince before Lysa revealed she went willingly to run away from her marriage to the king, who was so furious he killed her with his bare hands despite having his executioner kill her lover.

Arya did not tell anyone, but she was glad that both of them were dead, for they insulted her mother by calling her a whore and Littlefinger looked at Sansa with lust in his eyes, like Theon did whenever he fucked a girl in Wintertown. She may not get along well with Sansa, but even she couldn't stomach the idea of some creepy man old enough to be her father looking at her with hunger. As for her annoying cousin who still fed at his mother's teats (Arya shuddered when she heard the rumors after her aunt's death) who was revealed to be their bastard, the Hand and his guards had found him one day attempting to jump off the balcony before crying that he wanted to fly and be with his mother. The next day they had sent a message to their uncle Edmure to escort him to Riverrun. He was supposed to arrive in a few days.

As for the rest of her family, Bran was mostly away doing his duties as squire for Ser Barristan, and would constantly spar in the training yard as did her brother Jon with Lord Jaime. Arya was still puzzled why their father allowed Jon to squire under the Kingslayer, especially after he called him a man without honor and an oathbreaker, and Jon was originally going to go to the Wall before finding out about the White Walkers. She was glad that he didn't go, after all she feared he would end up getting killed by them, a Wildling, the cold, or even worse, his fellow recruits. After all, they were mostly thieves and rapers, or so she had heard.

As for Sansa, she was having a ball sitting with the ladies of court, sewing and gossiping while drinking tea as the future Queen of Westeros was set to arrive from Highgarden real soon. She once heard Lord Renly, the king's brother and heir apparent, say that she resembled Lyanna before the king gave him a black eye and broken nose for his comment. Arya couldn't help but hear the servants and maids gossip on Lysa's revelation, the rumors surrounding Lord Jaime's twin, the late Queen Cersei, which had been dismissed but most likely held a bit of truth in them as King Robert loved to spend more time in the whorehouse than Theon and the late Imp. What they all agreed on was that this marriage should be at least better than the first, considering the fact that the new queen didn't sleep with her brother as he was more likely to draw his attentions to Lord Renly. Arya didn't know what to feel about that, but quite frankly she could care any less to the gossip of the court.

She had tried finding Mycah to spar with, but apparently he was nowhere to be found, so she decided to roam through the Red Keep without anyone seeing her. She had heard that there were skulls that belonged to the Targaryens' dragons hidden in the dungeons below, so she might as well go and investigate.

When Arya found them, she stared in awe. The skulls varied in different sizes, starting as small as a cat to large enough to swallow an entire horse. All of a sudden, she heard voices, a dim light coming from the nearest exit, and immediately hid behind the largest skull, thinking it was guards who would most likely recognize her and inform their father of her activities. Instead what she heard surprised her.

"What information do you have for me, old friend?" asked a fat man, whose face was hidden well under his cloak, although Arya swore his voice sounded very familiar.

"Not the best ones, I'm afraid. The dragon queen is set to give birth at any moment now," said his companion, his voice thick with the accent of the Free Cities.

Arya gaped in shock. Dragon queen? She knew the events of the Rebellion well enough and the king would rant about the last Targaryen, who was born during a storm escaping to Essos along with her older brother Viserys, who died of the fever. Obviously these two were talking treason and Arya needed to tell her father about this.

"Which will only make her more desperate to take back her family's throne," the first man sighed. "It's such a shame what she did to Ser Jorah. I had hoped his secret wouldn't come out long enough for him to advise her on taking back Westeros. Much more now that she succeeded in hatching three dragons from mere stone."

Dragons? Actual fire-breathing dragons?, Arya thought as she listened more closely.

"And what about her nephew? The one Lord Stark claimed as his bastard?"

Arya's ears perked up as her hands shot up to her mouth as she smothered the gasp that came from her lips.

"He lacks the madness his ancestors did. Even more, he has brought up well under his Northern values. It was a good thing Ned Stark hid the boy well. The gods know Robert would have killed him as a babe if he had found out Lyanna loved Rhaegar passionately to get married."

Jon was a Targaryen? The boy she loved more than her other siblings and confided in wasn't her brother, but her cousin? Arya's eyes watered as she finally put the pieces together. Now it made sense why Jon had so wanted to join the Night's Watch. Robb had told her once their mother insulted him before she changed her behavior and later demanded he be legitimized. The more she thought about it, the more her heart broke.

"Does he wish to take up the Iron Throne?"

"Unfortunately not. Although Prince Oberyn swore fealty to him if he ever decided to take it."

"What are our plans for the Targaryen girl?"

"There is no hope for her. She is a lost cause. After all the work we made, we cannot allow to replace a mad king with an even more mad queen, much less his own daughter?"

"And the king?"

"His rule will end soon enough. The Riverlands are outraged at the manner in which Lady Lysa was killed by the king, despite facing the truth of her crimes. As for Littlefinger, thank the gods he is dead. Had he lived, he would have wrought more chaos upon the realm, especially with the Long Night returning."

"Any news beyond the Wall?"

"They're still recovering from the attack on the Wall, but with the new recruits they've received, they're going to need more help than that. Apparently the king is to send the Lord Commander and many lords on a great ranging expedition beyond the Wall. Jon Stark has volunteered, along with Lord Jaime, the Hound, Prince Oberyn, Beric Dondarrion, and Thoros of Myr."

Arya closed her eyes angrily as tears were starting to run down her cheek when she heard Jon was going beyond the Wall.

"Who else does the king have in mind to join?"

"Loras Tyrell is a consideration, although Lord Renly is unlikely to let that happen due to their mutual feelings for one another. Then there's Randyll and Dickon Tarly from Horn Hill, along with a second cousin of Ser Ilyn sent by Lord Kevan to watch over his nephew."

"So many wars on multiple fronts," the second man scoffed. "Gods help us all."

Then like that, they disappeared while Arya moved from her hiding place and began to sob. Damn King Robert for wanting to kill Jon. Damn father for lying to their family. And damn Jon for going off to the Wall without saying good-bye to her.

She wiped her tears angrily with her fist before going through the gates where the two men left. _Damn it, it's locked! _She would have to find some other way to get back to her father--

On second thought, let her father worry with fear for a day. She did not wish to speak with him as he had tolerated her mother to insult Jon before she was born. Arya went the other way.

She came out at the end of a tunnel when she saw blue skies and saw water hitting the shores. She must be on a beach near Blackwater Bay.

Arya made her around until she traveled through the Street of Flour. She didn't have any gold on her being, as she had left it in her chambers. So she continued walking through the alleyways despite catching the eye of several men who were looking at her weird. She felt them coming closer, so she turned a corner before another man stepped right in front of her.

"That's a fine, looking sword you got there, boy," said the man. "Do you mind if I have a look at it?"

Arya then unsheathed her sword, while the men behind her 'ooohed' in mockery. The man simply frowned.

"Do you know who you're speaking to, boy?" the man said.

"I couldn't give a shit what your name is, cutthroat," Arya said.

"Just kill him and be done with it, Karl," said one of the man's friends behind her.

"I will," said Karl. "But not before I properly introduce myself first. My name is Karl Tanner of Gin Alley. I'm a fucking legend around here, if you must know. I've never a lost a fight since I was nine." Well shit, Arya was screwed. The man must have noticed her apprehension, because he then leaned closer. "I can take on any knight that comes at me. Fucking cunts in shining armor. Do you know how much they pay me to kill a man in King's Landing?" Arya shook her head. "Seven silvers. They tell me a man's name and that man never sees daylight again. None of the cocksuckers get away from me. And now..." He removed his sword. "...neither will you."

At that, Arya was then thrown to the ground by the men behind her while Karl paced back and forth.

"Don't start a fight that you can't finish, boy," said Karl. "Especially with half a dozen men."

"Oy, Karl," said a man who had pushed her to face upwards at them. "This one's a girl."

That caught Karl and the others' attention. Fuck, Arya thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Now she was beginning to regret her decision to leave the safeties of the Red Keep.

"How can you be sure?" Karl asked.

"She smells like that whore that I just fucked in the brothel last night, that recently came from the North."

"Really?" Karl narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. Arya shuddered under his glaze as he knelt down towards her. "Now what is a pretty little highborn girl from the North like you doing out here in the far South, eh? You left your daddy's castle looking for trouble, didn't you? No dresses for you. You like it rough, don't you? You like it in the gutter, don't you?" His hand ran through her hair.

"Don't you dare touch me," Arya growled to hide her fear. "Do you know who my father is?"

"I couldn't give a shit who your father was, even if he were the king," said Karl, who smiled coldly at her.

"Well you should," she spat. "My father is best friend to the king and Warden of the North. And when he finds out about this, he'll have your heads on spikes at the Red Keep."

"We're so scared," Karl said. "We're quaking in my boots. You talk too much. What do you say, boys? Maybe a good long fucking should shut her up for a few hours."

"No," Arya shouted before one of the men's hands covered her mouth.

"Don't say a word," Karl spoke softly. "We'll make this quick as we can for you. By the time we're done with you, your father will pay us fine gold when we bring you back to him."

Arya's eyes started watering again when she felt them tearing at her clothing, before instinctively kicking one of them in the balls.

"Northern bitch!" the man shouted as he pushed the others aside and punched her in the face, cutting her lips. "Now I'm going to be the first one to fuck you."

He proceeded to loosen his breeches, before he gave out a moan as he fell forward with a knife buried deep in his back.

"Nobody fucks her unless I say so," Karl said. "Hold her down."

"Let her go!"

Arya and the others turned to find a strapping, tall young boy, whose hair was dark as a raven, and eyes as blue as the waters of King's Landing itself. What caught her eye, though was that he was carrying a smith's hammer.

"Get out of here, you bastard!" one of Karl's men said. "Walk away while you still can."

"Why?" the boy said as he locked eyes with Arya, who felt like she could drown in those eyes. "When it is obvious you are hurting the lady. Now let her go before you regret it."

"Fuck you," said another man as he and three more of Karl's companions charged at him. The boy merely waited as they got closer, when they did. He swung his hammer at the man's face, smashing it against one of the walls, then ducked the second man's sword just as he kneed him to the groin before his hammer landed on the man's back in one powerful blow. His hammer then caught the third man's blade before tossing it upwards and smashing his hammer into the man's chest, his body being tossed back to Karl, who looked at the boy with a growing annoyance before grabbing Arya and held her out in front of him while holding a dagger at her throat.

"Don't move or she is a dead girl," Karl said.

The boy hesitated as his eyes darted between Karl, the dagger and Arya.

"Do as he says," Arya said.

The boy seemed to hesitate before saying words that infuriated Arya more than the men who wanted to force themselves on her: "Are you sure, milady?"

"Do not... _ever..._ call me... a LADY!" Arya yelled as she elbowed the man in the stomach, causing him to give her enough space to escape before Arya attempted to stab Needle through him.

Unfortunately however he caught it with his sword before butting his head on hers, causing her to fall to the ground before tossing his dagger at the boy, who blocked it with his hammer before Karl strode towards him swinging furiously, causing the boy to jump back. Arya could only watch as her vision blurred as the boy seemed to narrowly avoid getting run through until Karl finally managed to slash upwards on the boy's left leg, gaining the upper hand. The boy fell to his knee as Karl kicked him in the chest, causing him to let go of the hammer and land on his back.

"Send my regards to the Stranger, bastard," said Karl as he drew his sword back to stab into the boy's chest.

At that moment, something snapped in Arya as she strode forwards and ran Needle upwards through the back of his throat. As she pulled it out, Karl dropped his sword and turned around and looked at Arya in shock as did she, for this was her first kill. He grasped his throat with both hands, while Arya stared at the blood pouring down upon them. Karl then glared at her before pushing her back up against the wall with one hand attempting to choke the life out of her, before pressing his whole body against her as he fell to the ground, dead.

Arya kept staring at the man she had just killed before looking down and realizing her torn clothing was covered in blood from the neck down, not counting her cut lip.

"Are you alright, milady?"

Arya's eyes shot up at the boy who had rescued her, shooting him a glare.

"Of course I'm fine, no thanks to you," Arya snapped.

The boy tilted his head at her. "No thanks to me? I just saved you from getting raped by half a dozen men, four of whom I just killed? If anything, you should be thanking me."

Arya knew the boy was right, but she was too stubborn to understand that for she felt it would take away her independence so she continued to argue with him.

"If anything, you nearly got yourself killed, and if it hadn't been for me, you'd be pinned to the ground with a sword, and that man would still end up raping me," Arya said.

"If you were just like any other normal lady," the boy argued before speaking softly. "But you're not like any other normal lady, are you?"

"I'm not," Arya said. "And for the last time, don't call me a lady."

"Whatever you say, milady," the boy grinned.

Arya glared at him before raising Needle to hit him upside the head, but the boy's quick thinking made him jump up and grab her sword arm before forcing her face up against the wall.

"You really shouldn't fight with people much bigger than you, much less people who just saved your life," the boy spoke seriously.

"Let me go," Arya said.

"Not until you apologize to me first," the boy said.

"I'll apologize only if you still stop calling me a lady," Arya snapped.

For a moment, they didn't say anything as they stood there in that position before he let her go.

"Fair enough," the boy said, before his eyes came upon Needle.

"That's castle-forged steel," the boy said. "How'd a lady like you end up stealing a sword without her father noticing it?"

"I didn't steal it," Arya said. "It was a gift."

"You must be a special kind of girl if you can wield a sword, let alone kill a man like that," the boy said. "What's your name?"

"Arya."

"M' name's Gendry," the boy said as he grabbed her hand to shake it. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, my lady."

Arya glared at the boy as he grinned like a bloody fool.

"Will you please not call me a lady, but most importantly will you please stop holding my hand?"

Gendry seemed to realize he was holding her hand, as he let go immediately. "Apologies, milady."

"Do you have a death wish or something, or are you just plain stupid?" Arya said.

"You really shouldn't insult people bigger than you," Gendry said.

"Then I wouldn't get to insult anyone," Arya replied.

"How can someone so small be such a huge pain in my ass?" Gendry sighed. "We best be getting you back where you belong, milady. Master Mott's going to kill me if he finds out about this."

"DO NOT CALL ME MILADY!," Arya spat.

"As you command, milady," Gendry smirked even as Arya punched him hard in the shoulder. "Well, that was unladylike."

"Let's just go," said Arya, who rolled her eyes at how annoying her new acquaintance was starting to get on her.

As they arrived at the Red Keep, two guards stood sentinel outside. When they got closer, the guards looked at them in disgust.

"The king doesn't hold court until the morrow," one guard coldly spoke at them.

"I'm just returning her to you," said Gendry.

"Fuck off, boy!" The other guard spoke up. "The local orphanage is back where you've fucking came from."

"I'm here to see my father," Arya finally spoke.

"And I want to fuck the Queen, even if she is dead and did fuck her brother, for all the good it does me," said the guard.

"You want to see your father, girl?" the first guard spoke, staring down at her. "Probably lying in some tavern, getting pissed on by his friends just before they fucked you."

"Watch your mouth around the lady," said Gendry, who glared at the man.

"Fuck off, you bastard!" the guard said while he and his companion unsheathed their swords. "We don't need any more beggars around here."

"What is going on here?"

As Arya and Gendry turned around, they saw Prince Oberyn Martell and a Dornish woman with him behind them. The Red Viper looked at the guards, and then looked towards Arya before stopping on Gendry, who he gave a critical stare before narrowing his eyes and for some strange reason Arya felt Oberyn would have killed Gendry on the spot.

"Nothing, my prince," said the guard that told them to go away. "These peasants were just leaving."

Prince Oberyn then turned to the guard before glaring daggers at him and his companion, causing them to share ft uneasily.

"This is Arya Stark of Winterfell, daughter of the Master of Coin who just so happens to be best friend to your king," hissed Prince Oberyn, before turning to Gendry. "And what is your name, boy?"

"Gendry Waters, m'lord," said the boy who also shifted slightly under the Red Viper's gaze.

Prince Oberyn nodded before staring at the boy and humming. "You will escort Lady Arya into the Red Keep."

"I really couldn't, m'lord. Master Tobho will yell at me if I stay away too long."

"I will pay him a visit on the morrow and explain your absence," said Prince Oberyn. "Flea Bottom, yes?"

"That is correct, m'lord," Gendry said.

"You make excellent armor," the Red Viper grinned. "I will discuss your apprenticeship with Master Tobho, before taking you in as my squire and ward."

"M'lord, that's really not necessary," Gendry stammered. "I'm just a bastard."

"So is my paramour here," Oberyn said as Ellaria waved to Gendry, while Arya couldn't help but feel jealousy over her new companion. "We have eight beautiful daughters together, who are also bastards themselves. Being a bastard is nothing to be ashamed of. Even Lady Arya's brother here was a _bastard_ before the king legitimized him." Arya was the only one who heard the emphasis on bastard as Prince Oberyn spoke. She wondered if he too knew Jon's secret. The question was whether he was ally, enemy, or both. If he was an enemy, then Arya would not hesitate to kill him as she did the man who attempted to rape her. "I'm sure however you can explain how Lady Arya got her clothes so bloodied."

"Of course," Gendry said.

"Good," Prince Oberyn said. "Now come along now, we have a missing lady to deliver." He looked coldly at the guards. "With your pardon."

The guards quickly let them pass through.

"Now, Lady Arya," said Prince Oberyn. "How did you get your clothes filled with blood, may I ask? Your father sent half his guard looking for you."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Arya said.

"Six men had been--" Gendry began.

"Arya, there you are!"

They all turned to see Jon and Ser Jaime arriving along with Sansa, Ser Barrustan, Bran, King Robert, Jon Arryn, Lord Renly... and Father. Arya swallowed as she saw them stop when they saw the blood on her clothes.

"Arya, where have you been?" Father said. "I sent half my guard looking for you. And now you've come back with blood on your clothes. What did you do?"

"If I could explain, m'lord," Gemdry said, causing the others to turn to him, and when they did, nothing but shock was on their faces. Jon Arryn and Jaime had gone pale, Father, Ser Barristan and Lord Renly looked like they had seen a ghost, while the king touched the boy's cheek with his hand.

"Who are you?" the king spoke as if he'd seen a ghost.

"This is Gendry," said Prince Oberyn. "Your son..." Arya looked to Gendry in shock as he and the king stared at each other like looking in a mirror. _He's King Robert's son?!?_ "...and my new squire."

That caught Robert's attention as he stormed over to Prince Oberyn, looming over him. "You DARE?"

"Yes, I dare," Prince Oberyn smiled coldly. "It's not like he'll be next in line to the throne."

Renly breathed a small sigh of relief while Father spoke up.

"You can finish your argument later," he said causing the two to glare at him. "For now, I like to where know my daughter has been."

And then Arya reluctantly told them everything that had happened to her, while Gendry gave his account as well. When they finished speaking, Arya had never seen her father so angry.

"Have you lost your mind?!?" Father shouted. "What were you thinking, you foolish, stupid girl? You know that going out in the city by yourself is too dangerous. This isn't Winterfell, where you can roam around as long as you please. If you wanted to go out into the city, you should have gone with Nymeria, or asked Jory or one of the other guards. Instead you went by yourself and gods know what could have happened between you and those men if Gendry hadn't arrived and killed those men."

"I killed the one who led those men," Arya argued.

"STOP!" Father shouted. "I am talking here. It was bad enough that those men could have hurt you, but what's worse is that your recklessness and impulsive actions have grown each day and caused you to act like a wild child." He sighed. "You did what you had to do to in that situation, but that doesn't mean it could not have been avoided. The next time you be sure to inform me or Jory where you're heading."

"Yes, father," Arya murmured.

"I will have to punish you, do you understand that?" Father asked.

Arya nodded while his eyes came upon Needle.

"What I like to know is where exactly you got a sword?"

"She said it was a gift, m'lord," Gendry spoke.

"Is it now?" Father raised an eyebrow.

"It is, Father," Jon said. "I had Mikken make it for her."

Ned looked to Jon and gave him a critical look. "Jon, you should know that this isn't a toy for her to play with."

"I know that, Father." Jon said, while maintaining eye contact with him. "And she wasn't playing with it. You know as well as I do that Arya doesn't want to be a lady."

"It doesn't matter, Jon," said Sansa, who had to be an annoying little twat as always. "She's a girl. Girls shouldn't play with swords."

"I wouldn't say that," said Lord Renly, which caused the others to look at him.

"And why is that, brother?" King Robert asked.

"I heard that Lady Brienne of Tarth had been practicing with swords, with the intention of being a knight, shortly before her death," said Renly.

"And how does that help? It just comes to show that ladies shouldn't play with swords," King Robert said while Sansa looked pleased.

"Oh she didn't get herself killed in action, Your Grace," Renly said. "The fever took her as well."

Sansa's face fell while Lord Jaime spoke up.

"Your Grace," Jaime said. "You may not want to hear this from me, but I think Lady Arya should at least continue her training with swords under supervision of a professional swordsman."

"What?" Father and Sansa looked horrified.

"My sister, the late Queen Cersei, and I used to trade clothing with each other, so that she would practice swordsmanship. She would have become an exceptional fighter had our father never found out and forced her into the role society laid out for her." Sansa looked shocked in disbelief as she tried picturing the late queen holding a sword. "Lord Stark, if you force the same fate on Lady Arya, she will become just as miserable as my sister was until her death. Besides that, Lady Arya is determined and had it not been for her skills with a sword, she would never have killed the raper in charge or intervened long enough for King Robert's son to arrive."

Father appeared deep in thought while Prince Oberyn spoke up.

"Lord Stark, if you won't mind, I would like to personally train Lady Arya myself, with the future prospect of fostering her in Dorne."

Bran gasped and Sansa looked like she was about to faint while Arya couldn't help but feel excited at the news.

"Please, Father," said Arya. "I promise never to run away like that again and to take my lessons with the Septa more seriously." Arya didn't care much about sewing, but it was the only way to convince Father, who sighed before looking to her.

"After you've been punished," Father said. "I will consider Prince Oberyn's offer."

"Thank you, Father," said Arya who jumped and hugged him as tight as she could.

Father smiled sadly, while King Robert spoke up.

"Yes, now that is all settled, Gemdry Waters, step forward."

Gendry did, while King Robert continued. "As a reward for rescuing Lady Arya Stark and displaying the true qualities of a Baratheon, from this day forward I hereby declare you Gendry Baratheon, my legitimized son until the end of time."

Gendry stumbled back in shock before composing himself and kneeling before the king.

"Thank you, Your Grace."

"Please call me Father."

"Thank you... Father."

"And to make things even more better, I hereby announce the joining of House Stark and House Baratheon once again with the betrothal between my newly discovered son, Gendry Baratheon and the Lady Arya Stark of Winterfell."

_What the fuck? _was Arya's last thought before she fainted into Father's arms.


	18. Eddard VI

Chapter 17

**EDDARD**

"Robert, you can't be serious!"

"Of course I'm serious, Ned! What seems to be the problem?"

When he had been told his daughter Arya was missing for several hours, he had groaned at first, thinking she was off exploring in some dark corner of the Red Keep, and had sent his guards to look for her. However when none of them had turned up any sign of his daughter, he began to worry frantically, fearing that she had suffered the same fate as his sister Lyanna.

_Promise me, Ned._

And then when she was found, it was in a most surprising and concerning way to Eddard. Her appearance was a little worse for wear, due to her torn clothing which was filled with blood. Not only that, but she was escorted by Prince Oberyn and his paramour, along with one of Robert's bastard sons who had helped her kill the men who had nearly disgraced her and most likely would have murdered her after they were done, a fact which worried Eddard greatly but did not surprise him in the least bit, for he knew Arya had the wolfblood just like his late siblings Brandon and Lyanna. Still, something worse could have happened to Arya. If Jon hadn't had that sword made for her.

Ned sighed. Catelyn was not going to be pleased about this, along with Prince Oberyn agreeing to train her, along with fostering her in Dorne, which had so many freedoms for allowing ladies to train in battle along with their fellow men. Still though, at least Arya would be on her best behavior there. Or at least that's what Ned hoped... considering the announcement that his friend Robert had made, regarding the betrothal between his newly discovered son and his daughter, who Ned knew had not taken the news well as she had fainted in his arms.

"It's too soon, Robert."

"Nonsense, Ned," Robert said. "It's perfect. My son looks exactly like I did when we were young, while your daughter looks exactly like my Lyanna. It's exactly the way it should have been all those years ago, had that bastard Rhaegar not taken her away from me." Robert then paused for a second, before looking at Ned and studying him carefully.

Ned's face remained still, but deep down he worried whether his late good-sister Lysa Tully's words had gotten to Robert and start making him suspect the truth of who Jon really is.

_Promise me Ned._

If the moment ever arose where Robert found out the truth and declared war upon Rhaegar's surviving son, Ned knew he would have no choice but to turn against him to betray his blood. That was something he dared hope would never occur.

"Robert?"

"I've been wondering, Ned," Robert spoke softly Ned barely heard him.

"About what, Your Grace?"

"Was your sister that much of a fighter, like your little girl?"

Ned's eyebrows shot up in surprise, for he had not expected that question. Still though, he didn't see the harm in answering.

"Very much so, your Grace. Although she had to do in secret without getting caught by Father. In addition to that, she also rode a horse well than any other man."

Robert laughed. "It's a good thing that your girl knows how to defend herself at least. I always imagined my children with Lyanna to be fierce warriors, the lot of them, just like your little girl. Instead of Lyanna, I got that lion bitch as a wife who bore me useless _lionspawn_." Ned winced at the words, hoping Robert would not realize Jaime's incestuous affair with the late Queen. However Robert was ignorant of his words. "At least I can look forward to the next generation of Baratheons, now that your daughter is betrothed to my boy. Gods, I can already see it now, my son Gendry Baratheon, fighting alongside with his wife Arya of House Stark, and children in battle, garnering themselves the honors and glories of war. The Storm Warriors, that's what they'll be known as." Robert's eyes widened at that last statement. "The Storm Warriors. Now's that something I shall look forward to seeing." He then turned to Ned. "Has your eldest daughter bled yet?"

"I don't think she has, Your Grace," Ned said.

"Good, because we need to betroth your daughter as soon as possible," Robert said.

"Your Grace, I don't want to bother--"

"Nonsense, Ned. And please don't call me Your Grace ever again when we're alone. You know better than that."

"Of course, Robert."

"The sooner we can marry off your eldest daughter, the more I can look forward to seeing our Houses unite the way it was meant to."

"Your Grace--" Ned said, which caused Robert to glare mightily at him. "Robert. Are you sure it's right to betroth Arya to Gendry, so soon after Arya's... predicament?"

Robert sighed. "You're being too tense on yourself, Ned. I understand the way you feel, your daughter somehow ended up outside the Red Keep and was almost raped by those bastards in the Street of Flour. It's a miracle from the gods that my son happened to be passing by, otherwise I would end up wishing that Rhaegar had taken the Iron Throne instead. Well not quite." Robert shook his head. "But enough contemplating on what could've happened and start thinking on what will happen. Your daughter. My son. United together in marriage. In battle. In bedding." Robert laughed, enjoying his own joke. Ned stood there, staring at him, wondering if the man he knew was gone forever. "I think I know of an early wedding present for them."

Before Ned could ask what, the Small Council members all walked in the room. Ned wondered what they were doing here. Something big must have happened recently.

As they took their seats, Varys ended up being the first one to speak, not surprisingly, for if anyone had any clue as to the latest updates in Westeros, it would be the Spider himself. "Your Grace, Lord Stark," Varys nodded in each of their respective directions. "Before I begin, I would like to congratulate you both on the betrothal between your newly found son and Lady Arya. I also pray for her recovery. The gods be merciful she did not suffer anything unfortunate under those men and that your son happened to be passing by."

"Thank you very much, Lord Varys," Robert said, grinning. "I appreciate your kind words. Now tell us what news have you received as of late?"

"A very disturbing one, I am afraid, Your Grace," Varys said, before staring into Ned's eyes as he spoke. "Daenerys Targaryen was made aware of Ser Jorah's loyalties."

"So now she knows her precious saviour was nothing more than a turncloak, good," Robert said, which caused Ned to glare at him, which the king ignored.

"You said that it was a disturbing report, Lord Varys," Jon Arryn said. "What is so disturbing about it?" That piqued everyone's interest.

"Ser Jorah had been taken ill at the moment of the Targaryen girl's discovery of his deception when he was slashed by a rogue Dothraki's arakh, tipped with poison. My little birds report that she was furious when she found out and sought to punish him as quickly as possible."

"She killed a dying man? What better way to put him out of his own misery," commented the Master of Laws, causing his brother to glare at him. "Shut up, Renly."

"And that, my lords, is the disturbing part of the report," Varys said. The Small Council remained silent and stared at him expectantly. "Daenerys Targaryen had her husband's khalasar build a pyre to which she tied Ser Jorah to, before setting it ablaze and walking into it herself, coming out unburnt and hatching three dragon eggs in the process. She has become the Conqueror reborn."

Pycelle coughed, while Ned, Renly, Barristan, and Jon's blanched in fear and shock, while Robert's held a fierce determination.

"But that's impossible," Pycelle said. "The dragons have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years."

"Yet now they have returned, along with the White Walkers," said Varys calmly.

Pycelle started wheezing, while Robert smashed his fist down on the table and looked to Ned, pointing his finger at him. "I knew it, Ned. I knew it. I knew that dragonwhore would end up being a threat to my crown. Not only has she proven herself mad just like Aerys, but she's awakened three _dragons_ in the process! We need to send our best assassins to deal with her and kill those abominations before it's too late."

"Your Grace, I implore you to just calm down--"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!? How in the Seven Hells am I supposed to be calm down, Ned, when that whore has awoken three dragons, THREE, and is seeking to take me out to avenge her damn family?!?"

"They've barely been born, Robert. They haven't learned yet to breathe fire."

"But soon enough they will, Ned!"

"That is not the honorable way."

"The Others take you and your sense of honor," Robert shouted, shocking all the other men present. "Honor isn't what wins our wars. It's fear. Fear and power! And right now that Targaryen girl has exactly just that! We can't waste another moment any longer. They have got to go."

Ned looked for an argument to counter Robert's, but he could not find none. This could not be happening right now, two wars on different fronts. Why was this happening? Had he really forsaken the Old Gods that badly that they saw fit to have the White Walkers and dragons return at the same time? To top that off, it appeared that Jon's aunt Daenerys was starting to become like her father. He needed to send his children away to Winterfell for safety, should the king discover information on Jon's true heritage. A son of ice and fire. Ice and fire. An idea suddenly occurred to Ned.

"Robert, what if we can use the dragons to defeat the White Walkers?"

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Ned? No, that is out of the question."

"Robert..."

"I said no, Ned! There is no fucking way you will get me to side with a fucking Targaryen or use any of her fucking creatures to defeat those ice monsters beyond the Wall. I will not hear any more of it."

At that moment, the King's squire, came in.

"Damn you, Lancel Lannister! Can't you not see we're in the middle of discussing something here!"

Lancel reared back and looked about the room, stuttering, "Yo... Your Grace. My lords. Lord Tyrell and his family have just arrived from Highgarden."

"Well, why the hells did you not say something, huh?" Robert roared, causing Lancel to tremble. "Well don't just stand there, shaking as if the White Walkers are already here, Lancel, although in your case I feel like you would be the first to die. Now go out and tell my new Queen that I will be there, and not a moment SOONER!"

Lancel nodded quickly, before running into the door on his way out.

"Well, my lords, it's time to meet my new bride," Robert said.

**A/N**: Hey everyone, I'm back! I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been really busy working in between jobs, so I really haven't had much of a chance to write, but here it is.

Also, I wish to announce that I will be collaborating with rivanpaat on a new story entitled Game of Thrones: The Next Generation, a sequel to his story, Game of Thrones season 8 redone: The Great War, which I am super excited about. We can't wait to share it with you.

Also, I'm thinking of doing another Game of Thrones story, set in modern times, soap opera style. Let me know what you guys think and what pairings you would like to see.

Until then, see you next time.


	19. Jon I

Chapter 18

**JON**

As he watched over his beloved sister who still lay in bed unconscious, Jon wondered what she did that caused her to end up in an alleyway in one of the most dangerous parts in King's Landing. He knew Arya well enough to know that she had to have done it for a reason, the question was what.

His moment of reflecting ended when he heard Arya groan softly before opening her eyes slowly and looking at her surroundings until her eyes landed on him.

"Jon?" she murmurred.

"I'm right here, Arya," Jon said as he moved to her side, caressing her face. "Are you alright? You had us worried there"

Arya simply nodded before she froze and remembered a very important detail, which caused her eyes to widen so large they almost popped out and palmed her face. "Oh no," she groaned.

"Congratulations on your betrothal, dear sister," said Jon, who was now grinning widely. "Your mother will be very pleased to hear that news."

"Please don't remind me," said Arya, who shook her head. "Why did I even think about sneaking off to the dungeons?"

"Dungeons?" Jon's eyebrows furrowed. "Was that where you were before going outside the Red Keep? What were you even thinking, Arya?"

"I was thinking of you," Arya responded.

"Of me?"

Arya then looked directly into his eyes with a strange and... saddened look in hers.

"I know who your mother was," Arya said, which caused Jon's eyes to widen.

"Arya... how?"

"I heard some men whispering in the dungeons," said Arya.

Wait, what? At that moment, Jon's face turned serious as he grew even more confused and worried about this information. If one word of his true heritage went to _King_ _Robert's_ ears, not only would his life be demanded, but those of his uncle, and his cousins would be as well. Jon wondered who his sister came across that knew his identity, besides his uncle. Lord Jaime knew but was it possible he might have told the Hound and his men that still roamed in the Red Keep? Whoever it was, Jon needed to make sure they stood with him as an ally, and not one of Robert's.

It was for this reason Jon had decided very early on, when he found out who his mother was and finally coming across the Iron Throne, the seat on which many of his ancestors had sat on as they ruled Westeros before his grandfather ensured their House's fate the moment he murdered his other grandfather and his uncle Brandon in the throne room, that he wanted nothing to do with the game of thrones that so many ambitious lords and ladies played so often. He did not wish to share their fate or rule over them, not with the White Walkers' return threatening all of mankind. But if Robert was a threat to him or his family, he would have no other choice but to take it.

"What men?" Jon asked.

"I don't know," Arya said. "One of them had a foreign accent while the other was fat."

Well, at least Jon knew it wasn't Jaime or his men. Still that did not narrow it--

"Was Prince Oberyn one of the men you speak of?"

Arya thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "His voice seemed a bit more foreign than the Red Viper's, and the other one said that he swore fealty to you."

Prince Oberyn knew his identity and... sworn fealty to him? Jon had thought that the Red Viper would have killed him on the spot, for the way _Rhaegar _discarded Elia in favor of his mother. But it seems that Oberyn would never accept following Robert, who condoned his sister's death along with Jon's half-siblings'. The question was why would Oberyn swear fealty to him, unless...

"What did they say exactly?" Jon asked.

"They said that the dragon queen was set to give birth any moment and that she successfully hatched three dragons," Arya said.

Dragon queen? Aunt Daenerys? When Jon had found out his true parentage, he had been told he had three relatives still living. His great-grand uncle Aemon, who was serving as the Maester at Castle Black. Jon hoped the man was still alive after the attack on the Wall. It was one of the reasons why he wanted to join the Night's Watch.

His other two relatives were in Essos. His uncle Viserys, who was seven namedays when they fled Dragonstone, was declared one of the many casualties of the Great Disease that struck Westeros, and his aunt Daenerys, who Jon barely knew anything about, but who he had wanted to meet along with Aemon. This news however made him question whether she was just as bad as Aerys or... maybe even worse. Still though, Jon thought it would be nice to come close to a dragon.

Jon's thoughts were interrupted as Arya said, "They said that King Robert's reign was going to come to an end."

Jon may have despised Robert, for what he did to his father's family, and would have liked to kill the man, but still he was the king. Not only that, but Jon promised he would never harm him for his uncle Ned's sake. Now it seemed someone was hoping to kill him to place Jon as king and gain his favor, but Jon would never allow such a dishonorable thing occur. It was up to him to keep the peace.

"I'm going to tell Father," said Jon, who moved to the door.

Arya grabbed his hand quickly and cried, "Please don't leave me, Jon. You can't leave me. I don't want you to go to the Wall. Please don't go."

Jon sat down by the bed and hugged Arya.

"Shhh," Jon said. "It's alright. I'm not going anywhere. We're Starks. Starks are hard to kill."

"You're also a Targaryen," Arya reminded him. "King Robert wants you dead and that means you have to go. I don't want you to go, Jon. I hate stupid King Robert and I hate his stupid son who he's forced me to marry."

"Arya, I'm not leaving because of King Robert," said Jon. "I'm leaving because my honor and duty demands it. And as for Gendry, he seems like a good lad. I know that you don't want to marry, dear sister, but sometimes duty requires that we make sacrifices in life. However, I don't think he will discourage you from using a sword. He already knows you're a good fighter. You already fought alongside him. Surely he will allow you to continue."

"Maybe," Arya said.

Jon sighed, knowing that his sister would not consider such an idea.

"Why did you not go to Father after you heard this?"

"I was," Arya said. "But they locked the gates to the dungeon, so I had to sneak out of the Red Keep to find another way back."

Jon nodded in understanding. "Jory will be right outside the door if you need anything," he said before standing up and exiting the room.

As Jon stood outside the door, he ran his hand through his hair before turning to Jory, who nodded to him that he would watch over Arya.

As he strode to find his father, who was in the Small Council chambers with King Robert, a voice called out to him, "Jon?"

He turned around to see Gendry, who was mostly cleaned up and who limped slightly on his left leg.

"Your Grace," Jon said.

Gendry raised his hand. "Please don't call me that. I'm still getting used to the fact that the king is my father. Just call me Gendry."

"Well then, you can call me Jon," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually," said Gendry. "I was wondering how Lady Arya was doing."

"She's fine, thank you for asking," Jon said. "How's your leg?"

"It's fine, thank you," Gendry said. "Just a slight cut, however the maester here has told me not to move around as much."

"I would listen to him if I were you," said Jon. "It wouldn't do good if the king's son succumbed to his wounds, before his wedding day."

"Please don't remind me," Gendry said softly, rubbing his hand over his eyes, before realizing the implications of his words and looking up at him. "Not that I don't like your sister, but I just wanted you to know that I had no intentions of seeking your sister's hand in marriage. I know that King Robert announced our betrothal, but believe me, that's not why I came to the Red Keep. I came here to escort her back to her family, not to find out about my heritage and then scheme my way into his good graces. I admire Lady Arya's spirit, but marrying her? It's too soon, plus she still is recovering from what happened--"

"Gendry," Jon said. "I know you're telling the truth, but if there is one thing you should know about King Robert is that he is a very stubborn man who is very hard to convince, even by my father."

"That much I gathered when I told him that." said Gendry. "He told me that it was merely slight nerves that everyone gets when they find out they're betrothed." He then turned to Jon. "What about you, are you betrothed yet?

Jon shook his head. "No, I'm not. To be honest, I haven't thought of marrying anyone."

"Why?" Gendry said, genuinely confused. "Have you not found the right woman? Or is it because everyone will still think of you as a bastard?"

Jon turned and studied him, he seemed very blunt and honest. He may know now that he was the king's son, but that still did not change Gendry's sense of identity. Jon also was reminded of how he was when he found out his true parentage and how he had questions about his mother's identity, which was then unknown to him, and for this reason he could relate to Gendry, who had no idea who his father was. So he spoke honestly.

"I haven't thought of marrying anyone, because I worry what may happen to my family if I do so," Jon said.

"I understand that feeling," Gendry said. "The king told me that my new stepmother is coming today to marry him. I have no intentions of interfering with who is next of line to the crown. I don't know anything about ruling."

"Neither do I," Jon said.

It was at that moment that Jon and Gendry looked at each other and found that they were both very kindred souls. An idea suddenly occured to Jon that it might serve him well to befriend Gendry, considering his past encounters with King Robert. If Robert ever found out the truth and rose against him, it might be best to have Gendry as an ally... or in the worst case scenario, a hostage. Jon loved Arya, but if it meant for her safety along with the rest of their family, she would need to go through with the wedding. He needed to get to his father and inform him what Arya told him. "I have to inform my father that Arya's awake, but I was wondering if you would like to dine with us sometime soon so you can get to know her better, perhaps maybe a spar in the yard to seem less conspicuous? I mean I know my sister well enough to know she is not willing to accept a betrothal of any kind, but I believe with the right actions and the right words, we can get her to soften up towards you."

Gendry looked deep in thought for several moments before slowly nodding. "I would like that very much."

Jon said, "So it's on?" He then took out his hand out to shake.

"It's on," Gendry said, smiling. He shook hands with Jon, before he caught sight of Lord Jaime and walked over to him.

As he and Lord Jaime walked out of Gendry's earshot, Jaime spoke: "May I ask what was all about?"

"A potential alliance," Jon said.

"Another one?" Jaime said. "You're a very lucky man."

"Another?" Jon said. "So you know about Prince Oberyn?"

"Along with Varys and Jon Arryn," Jaime said. "I imagine your father told you."

"No," Jon said. "Arya did."

"Arya?!" said Jaime, who turned around and stared at him, wide-eyed. "How did she find out?"

Jon moved to answer, but then he remembered something. "Varys and Jon Arryn know?"

"Of course, Varys swore fealty while your namesake said he would keep your secret," Jaime said. "Now how did your sister find out?"

Jon thought about what Arya said. A foreign-accented man and a fat man. Fat man._ Varys._ It had to be him. It made perfect sense, after all he was the Master of Whisperers, he knew everything that was going on in Westeros and across the Narrow Sea through his little birds, and some trusted associates. The question was who was the trusted associate that Varys met with in the dungeons?

"She was in the dungeons, overhearing two men talking about it," Jon said.

"What two men?" Jaime asked.

"A fat one, who I believe to be Varys, and a foreign-accented man, who possibly came from Essos," Jon said.

"That bloody eunuch," Jaime hissed before shaking his head. "What else did they say?"

"Arya heard them talking about my aunt Daenerys," Jon said. "And that she had successfully hatched three dragons and that she was pregnant and is set to give birth any moment now."

"Well this is not good," said Jaime, who was now rubbing his temples.

"I'll say," Jon said. "It seems that the Spider also plans on removing Robert from the throne in my favor."

"What?!?" Jaime said. "We can't let that happen, not with the White Walkers returning."

"I know," Jon groaned. "We need to tell my father about what Varys plans to do and speak with him."

"Well let's not waste anytime," Jaime said and like that, he and Jon set off to find Father.

**A/N**: And another chapter is complete. Now originally I wanted Ned to be the one speaking with Arya and finding out about Varys in the dungeon before the Tyrells came, but then I realized that I hadn't yet given Jon a POV, so I decided to have Ned debate with Robert over Gendry and Arya's betrothal before finding out about Dany and how she managed to birth three dragons in the previous chapter. Plus I wanted to show Jon bonding with his future brother-in-law and how cunning he is, a skill that might serve him well in the game of thrones. So let me know what you guys think. Please review down below and follow if you haven't already. Until then, see you next time!


	20. Daenerys V, Theon I

Chapter 19:

**DAENERYS**

As she rode through the desert with her husband by her side, Daenerys sat on her silver horse with two of the three dragons she had birthed nestled against her neck, while the third one lay in her lap, watching over her now-grown womb.

She smiled and thought about everything that had transpired since she had awakened the dragons from stone. _If only Viserys were still alive to see all that I've done. _Her smile stilled for a moment when she thought on what Viserys would have done. He would most likely take the dragons away from her in an unsuccessful attempt to turn on them. If it had been him, he would have burnt alongside Ser Jorah in the py--.

No, Dany served justice that day. She refused to allow herself to pity the Westerosi knight who had been Robert's spy, but still he saved her life twice, shouldn't that have been in his favor?

She shook her head softly in time to hear the dragons shriek softly. She smiled again. In her heart, she knew she had made the right decision, after all a queen must never show weakness in front of their enemies. Nevertheless she had granted Ser Jorah a merciful death and spared him the effects of the poison from Qotho's scythe. After all, this was for the child inside her womb, Rhaego, the stallion that rides.

The day after she had announced that the Lhazareen would become part of her khalasar, several of Drogo's _kos _tookgreat displeasure at this and the fact that Drogo had supported her decision after they complained to him about it. They were led by Jhaqo and Pono, who had met in secret with plans to overthrow her husband as khal and kill her child, before forcing themselves on her before slitting her throat. Fortunately for Daenerys, she had sent her bloodriders to keep a close eye on them. When they reported back to her and Drogo, he challenged them to combat against him for the position of khal. When they rushed to attack him, he slashed at them with panther-like speed and killed them on the spot, therefore ending the challenge very quickly.

Daenerys, shortly after, had decided to name her dragons. The two that currently rested on her shoulders were both named after her brothers: Rhaegal, distinguished by green and bronze colored scales and yellow-orangish colored wings, and Viserion, distinguished by cream and gold colored scales and red-orangish colored wings.

The third Daenerys had some difficulty of naming, as its scales and wings were the same colors as her House's. She wanted to give a name worthy of House Targaryen and a dragon. At first, she was inclined to name it Drogon, after her sun-and-stars, but it would feel like he had died, so she refused to name it that. Another idea was naming it Balerion, after his namesake the Black Dread, but Daenerys felt like the people around her would end up being confused by it. Finally she decided to name it Aeron, after her late father. Yes, Magister Illyrio had told her the truth regarding the meaning behind the name "The Mad King", leaving little-to-no love from Daenerys for her father, who she blamed for the fall of their House. Nevertheless she felt it was best to learn from the Mad King's mistakes and know how to truly bring glory to her House once again. The name was to remind her of all the sacrifices her House had made in order for her to take up her rightful place as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

The night after she had named her dragons, Dany had dreamt of a magnificent throne room filled with green fire, with an assymetric monstrosity of spikes and jagged edges and twisted metal in the center. Suddenly, she heard maniacal laughing and the next moment, she stood face-to-face with the man they called the Mad King, who smiled sweetly at her before his face contorted in fear as he screamed, "BURN THEM ALL!" before a sword protruded from his chest, which went out of his back as her father fell to the floor and saw a golden-haired man with a white cloak, who Dany would assume as the Kingslayer, standing there as he pulled his sword out. Next, a boy who had brown hair, grey eyes, pale skin, and was wearing armor with her House's sigil engraved on his breastplate, walked forward and sat down on the Iron Throne, his eyes staring intensively at her. She was about to tell the boy to remove himself from her throne, when she felt a gust of strong, cold air hitting her face before she woke up.

The dream troubled her despite it being just that. Every once in a while Mirri Maz Duur's final words before Dany sent her to burn alongside Ser Jorah would be reheard in her head. _After the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, you will come face to face with another dragon, one with more claim to the Iron Throne than you ever will._

It seemed impossible that this boy was a Targaryen, after all he lacked the normal colouring of one. However, the more Dany thought about it, the more her mind was starting to doubt... and worry. She knew the stories that people told about how the Rebellion started. How Rhaegar had crowned Lady Lyanna Stark at Harrenhal and... ran away with her. _More claim to the Iron Throne than I ever will. __Could it be?_

Dany was brought out of her train of thought when Irri cried out, "KHALEESI!"

She looked down to see Aeron was screeching and noticed that her saddle was wet. The next thing she knew was she felt a sharp pain in her lower region, one that made Dany cry out herself, though louder than her maidservant. Drogo turned around and noticed her state before barking orders at the khalasar to stop, before dismounting with several other bloodriders, who gently removed Dany from her saddle and guided her into a hastily set-up tent, before laying her down facing up.

Dany could feel the pain intensify more and more every second, this wasn't like the pain that she experienced when she gave her body to Drogo, no this pain felt like her whole body was about to be torn apart. She started sweating profusely now and grabbed her husband's hand in support, squeezing it as hard as she could to stop the pain from hurting. Outside the tent, she could hear the Dothraki and Lhazareen chanting in their own respective language and looked outside to see a red comet, with a long tail that seemed to cover half the sky. The chanting seemed to rise in rhythm along with the pain, which caused her to start becoming feverish.

She screamed one last time, along with the dragons before a baby's crying was the last thing she heard before blackness consumed her.

**THEON**

Theon Greyjoy was home.

He was so glad to finally be back at Pyke after being taken hostage by Lord Stark, to make his father comply after being defeated by King Robert. It seemed not too long ago, when his father had led a rebellion for independence of the Iron Islands and both of his older brothers had been killed fighting King Robert's men. Well, Rodrik had died fighting Jason Mallister while Maron ended up being crushed when the old south tower that he was on collapsed when Robert and his men sieged Pyke.

"Is it as you remember, my lord?" said a woman, who walked out on the deck where Theon was standing looking out, wrapped in cloaks.

"Looks smaller," Theon replied as the woman stood beside him.

"Everything looks bigger when you're a child," said the woman who was now leaning on him. "I remember my father's cabin. It felt like a palace when I was little. Now look at it."

Theon did.

Drear, dark, forbidding, Pyke stood atop those islands and pillars, almost a part of them,its curtain wall closing off the headland around the foot of the great stone bridge that leapt from the cliff-top to the largest islet, dominated by the massive bulk of the Great Keep.Farther out were the Kitchen Keep and the Bloody Keep, each on its own island. Towers and outbuildings clung to the stacks beyond, linked to each other by covered archways when the pillars stood close, by long swaying walks of wood and rope when they did not.

The Sea Tower rose from the outmost island at the point of the broken sword, the oldest part of the castle, round and tall, the sheer-sided pillar on which it stood half-eaten through by the endless battering of the waves. The base of the tower was white from centuries of salt

spray, the upper stories green from the lichen that crawled over it like a thick blanket, the jagged crown black with soot from its nightly watchfire.

Above the Sea Tower snapped his father's banner. The ship was too far off for

Theon to see more than the cloth itself, but he knew the device it bore: the golden kraken of House Greyjoy, arms writhing and reaching against a black field. The banner streamed from an iron mast, shivering and twisting as the wind gusted, like a bird struggling to take flight. And here at least the direwolf of Stark did not fly above, casting its shadow down upon the Greyjoy kraken.

"They'll be waiting for me on the docks," Theon said.

"Who will?" the woman said.

"Anyone who matters," he said. "This is a big day for them. They haven't had much to get excited about since I left. It's a hard place the Iron Islands has been. It's cold and wet."

"I love the cold and wet."

"They say hard places breed hard men," said Theon who walked behind the woman and held the woman in his arms, pressing his erection against her, eliciting an involuntary gasp from her. "And hard men rule the world."

"Then you'll be king before long."

Theon smiled and was about to reply until he heard a man clear his throat. They both turned to see the captain, a fat-bellied man, staring at them sullenly.

"Father," said the woman sheepishly.

"We are making for port now," said the captain.

Theon looked and saw they were already nearing the ports. The Drowned God must have really been in Theon's favor for him to make the trip this quick, for he has sent the red comet to shine his way. After all he was on a mission to speak to his father about aiding the Starks for when the White Walkers came. To Theon, that information seemed laughable at first, but one look at Robb and Lord Stark showed that this was a serious matter. Then again, the Northerners were an odd lot. After all, baby Rickon had gotten along with a wildling woman who had gotten past the Wall along with others who nearly threatened his life and was claiming the White Walkers were coming.

_Such madness,_ Theon thought as he sighed before reminding himself he needed to perform this mission to regain Robb's trust back after what he nearly did to his betrothed and future wife... or so the bastard Snow, sorry, former bastard, had tattled on him to King Robert, who looked ready to smash his warhammer upon him. He had received a strong tongue-lashing from Lord Stark about bringing dishonor upon their House. _Well I'm not a Stark. I'm a Greyjoy, taken captive from his home_, Theonhad wanted to say at the time, but decided not to for the Starks treated him well before that incident occurred. The next day, Theon was ruthlessly beaten and humiliated by the Kingslayer in the training yard. Theon had tried to save face by telling him how despicable he truly was. After all, he had killed one king and cuckolded the next by sleeping with his sister. What kind of a madman would do such a thing?

_The Targaryens_, Theon bitterly thought_. Well I suppose they started off their legacy with a madman who married his two sisters and took control of all Westeros with their dragons, thinking it was theirs, and end it with a madman who saw enemies anywhere and burnt imagined enemies daily, and his son who kidnapped Lord Stark's sister and raped her._

It seemed the North had become a sad place due to Lady Lyanna's death. It was said that she was very beautiful and that Arya Horseface looked like her every day. Beautiful and Horseface? That was something that made Theon laugh. Still though, she must have been some kind of a woman, if King Robert loved her that much. Theon would have loved to spill his seed inside her mouth.

As they neared the docks, Theon stepped down the stairs that were lowered from the ship. An old man approached him.

"What you carrying?"

"Pears and oranges," Theon said. "Wine from her Arbor and the heir to the Iron Islands."

"Don't like wine," the man said. "Woman's drink."

Theon frowned. It seemed this idiot was simpleminded and did not know who he was talking to.

"The heir to the Iron Islands is the last surviving son of Balon Greyjoy," Theon said looking the man in the eye. "Who just so happens to be me."

When the man didn't respond, Theon sighed.

"I need to get to Pyke."

The man still didn't reply, while Theon huffed in annoyance and took out some coins.

"I'll find you a horse."

The man took the coins and walked away, presumably to find the damn horse. Theon wondered how long it would take the man to return with it.

"Prince Theon, we've been expecting you."

Theon smiled and turned around to see another old man, with hair as white as snow and a hideous scar, splintering his jaw giving it four lips.

"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?"

"Cleftjaw, my lord."

Theon snorted in amusement.

"Why do they call you that?"

"Well, I believe it's pretty obvious, my lord," said the man who gestured at his four lips. Theon noticed the man wore many rings on his fingers, gold and silver and bronze, set with sapphire and garnet and dragonglass.

"How'd you get all those rings?"

"The iron price, little lordling," Cleftjaw said, smiling wide to show the damage to his teeth.

Ah yes, the iron price. In the Old Way of the Ironborn, only women decorated themselves with ornaments bought with coin. A warrior wore only the jewelry he took off the corpses of enemies slain by his own hand. Paying the iron price, it was called. When he was growing up, Theon found his father to be extremely fond of the Iron Price and wouldn't accept anything other than. What would Father think of him now?

Theon shoved those thoughts down as the first man returned with a horse and Theon shook his head and instead told him to bring his stuff to Pyke.

As they walked on their way, Theon started asking questions on his father's state. Cleftjaw smiled and told him his father was doing well in health and was eagerly awaiting for him.

That got Theon curious. Was his father really that happy to see him, to see the son he had abandoned nine years ago to the custody of Lord Eddard Stark? Whatever it was, Theon was sure the Drowned God had blessed his path this very day.

As they entered through to the Great Keep through a covered stone walkway, the echoes of their footsteps mingling with the ceaseless rumble of the sea below. To get to the Sea Tower on its crooked pillar, he had to cross three further bridges, each narrower than the one before. The last was made of rope and wood, and the wet salt wind made it sway underfoot like a living thing. Theon's heart was in his mouth by the time he was halfway across. A long way below,

the waves threw up tall plumes of spray as they crashed against the rock. As a boy, he used to run across this bridge, even in the black of night. Boys believe nothing can hurt them, his doubt whispered. Grown men know better.

The door was grey wood studded with iron, and Cleftjaw moved forward. He hammered on it with a fist, and cursed when a splinter snagged the fabric of his glove. The wood was damp and moldy, the iron studs rusted.

After a moment the door was opened from within by a guard in a black iron breastplate and pot-helm, who looked at Theon before turning to Cleftjaw. "Is it him?"

"Aye, it's him."

"Prince Theon, welcome home. The king has been expecting you."

"Excellent." The man stood aside, as Theon climbed the twisting steps to the solar.

"Father?"

He stopped as his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

"I'm afraid Balon is dead, beloved nephew. He fell off the bridge last night while the Storm God sent the rain upon us. It really is such a tragedy. Now your sister Asha has ran away and set sail. She fears I have something to do with my dear brother's death."

"Uncle Euron?!?"

The man in front of him smiled. Pale and handsome with black hair and a dark beard, he wore a patch over his left eye, a patch concealing a "black eye shining with malice". His remaining eye was as blue as the summer skies and was known as his "smiling eye". In addition, his lips were a pale blue, due to his known propensity to drink shade of the evening.

Of all his uncles, Euron was wildly unpredictable, known for his delight in playing vicious mind games and waging psychological warfare on anyone around him. He was hated by his father and uncles for this reason. Well that and raping and getting his uncle Victarion's salt wife pregnant, a crime that Victarion wanted to kill Euron for and of which his father exiled him from the Iron Islands. But now his father was dead and his uncle Euron was here.

"It is so good to see you again."

Theon didn't have time to think as he instinctively reached for his sword hilt before he felt a sharp pain in his head as he dropped to the floor, his vision blurring as he looked up to see Cleftjaw moving towards Euron, who was still smiling as he knelt down towards him.

"It really is so good to see you with us again, nephew."

And just like that, the darkness overtook Theon.

**A/N: **And another chapter is completed, with the POVs going unconscious. I knew early on, that I wanted Rhaego to be born during the comet, and Theon to arrive at the Iron Islands to find it has been taken over by Euron. Well that certainly keeps Theon from turning against Robb... or does it? Next time, we will see Robert greeting the Tyrells to the Red Keep... and a certain red woman arriving as well.


	21. Jon II

Chapter 20:

**JON**

As he and Lord Jaime entered the throne room, they found it was already crowded with lords and ladies standing in a group, looking towards the Iron Throne, where King Robert sat. One would assume that things had cooled down in the Capital after how the late Lord Baelish and his lover, Lady Lysa, were... executed in an almost gruesome manner, in this very room. However, that was only the beginning. Not long after, they received news that an army of White Walkers made a surprise attack on the Night's Watch, and killed a good number of them before the Night's Watch ended up destroying them all with fire. They ended up burning the bodies the next day to lower the ranks of the White Walkers, not that that would help much. That news had caused the lords and ladies to simultaneously call for the king to send men to the wall.

And so the king did. The next day, his father and Lord Jaime went through ledgers belonging to the late (and disgraced) Master of Coin, and reported their findings to the King. Soon enough, by the end of the day, the King had ordered the detainment of Janos Slynt, the former commander of the City Watch, and several other Goldcloaks for corruption and obstruction of the King's Justice. The King had forced them to choose between taking the black or facing Ser Ilyn's sword. He soon announced an expedition beyond the Wall, a Great Ranging of sorts, to report on the severity of the White Walkers' numbers... and to be cautious of any Wildlings surrounding the area North of the Wall. Jon had already volunteered alongside Lord Jaime, who did it to keep an eye on him and probably watching over _his_ _king_, not that Jon wanted the iron monstrosity where his demented grandfather sat along with the fat stag, who condoned the murders of his stepmother and half-siblings.

"Lord Mace," the Hand of the King spoke, bringing Jon to the present. At that moment, a fat man who was red-faced and had curly brown hair, and his beard cut into a triangular shape with white and grey specks on it, dressed in green velvet trimmed with sable and a gold mantle over green, approached the king. Jon observed closefully and, after a good moment, determined he was an ambitious oaf who thought highly of himself and could easily be swayed.

"Your house has come to our aid, during these perilous times," continued Lord Arryn. "The whole realm is in your debt, none more so than His Grace." He turned around to look at Robert, who merely waved his hand for him to get on with it. "If your family would ask of His Grace, ask it and it shall be yours."

Before Lord Tyrell could respond, King Robert spoke. "There's no need to ask, Tyrell. I know exactly what you want: for me to make your daughter a queen, is that right?"

Lord Mace was genuinely baffled and stuttered before calming down and replying, "Why yes, your Grace. If you find it in your heart to take her as your bride, I would be profoundly honored to join our Houses."

"Of course you would," Robert said. "The gods know that you have been striving to see your House joined with the Crown, and now that I have no wife and no sons to continue the line of succession, you now find yourself in a most fortunate situation, considering neither of my sons were worthy of ruling."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Jon observed the king very closefully, trying to determine what he was playing here.

"Your Grace, it would be bes--" said Lord Arryn.

"Now hold on, Jon. I need to be honest here," said Robert, who raised his hand to silence his Hand. "The gods know I was not a good father to Joffrey or Tommen."

Jon heard Jaime snort bitterly. He stared intensively at him, warning him not to cause a scene that would make him lose his head like Littlefinger.

"I left them to be cared for by Cersei, who nurtured Joffrey more than her other children and raised him up with foolish notions that he was better than anyone in this damned castle and they were meant to be looked down upon. In doing so, she created a monster who tormented his siblings and the servants, even cutting up a pregnant cat, just to see the unborn kittens." The crowd gasped upon hearing this, including Sansa, who looked beyond horrified that her "sweet prince" was anything but. "He was a monster, who would have made a horrible king. As for Tommen, he was too gentle but there might have been hope for him if he hadn't passed on. However, they are now ghosts of the past." Robert's eyes found his and stared upon him for a moment before continuing. "And we mustn't look to the past, but strive in the present for a better future."

At that moment, something strange had happened. The crowd was shocked at hearing Robert's words, none of them would have ever imagined their drunken and whoremongering king give such a speech, revealing his flaws and the truth about Prince Joffrey's behavior, before ending it with inspiring words.

"Lord Mace, I accept your daughter's hand in marriage," said King Robert.

Lord Mace, who was stunned speechless, recovered himself and bowed before him. "Thank you, your Grace. You are most kind."

"Rise, Lord Tyrell."

Mace did and immediately beckoned for his daughter to come.

When Jon saw her, he was... completely dazed by what he saw. A young woman, who looked around his age and had her father's hair, but had a slender but womanly figure with smooth and unblemished pale skin and small breasts. She was fair and lively, with a shy and sweet smile. Her attire included a sheer gown of ivory silk, Myrish lace, and seed pearls, all of which enhanced her beauty even more. Jon had heard from his father that Lord Renly claimed she looked like Lyanna Stark. No, Jon knew that no one could compare to his mother, but Margaery Tyrell was a beauty in her own right, not like the late Queen Cersei Lannister, who Jon had never met before in his life but knew she was very miserable in her marriage to Robert, which caused her to seek comfort in her twin brother's arms.

Another thing that caught Jon's attention was that Margaery resembled her brother Ser Loras, who stood by her side, more closely in appearance. It was a good thing to know that the Tyrells would not have a scandal similar to the one that House Lannister was in secretly, although its impact would be no different, as Jon caught sight of Lord Renly locking eye contact with Ser Loras often.

"Lady Margaery," said King Robert. "I have heard tales of your beauty from afar, but the tales do not do you justice at all. It is an honor to have you as my queen and I promise to love you from this day until my last day."

Margaery gave a shy smirk. "Thank you, Your Grace. I have to come to love you from afar. Tales of your courage and feats have never been far from my ears. And those tales have taken deep root inside me."

_As it does mine, _Jon thought, glaring coldly at the scene. He should've known that Margaery was much more intelligent and shrewd than she turned out to be. Well hopefully she will end up hating Robert the same as her predecessor. _No,_ Jon thought, _I shouldn't think that way. What is wrong with me?_

Jon didn't notice when the crowd started clapping, however when the king was ready to stand up, Jon did not he had pushed his way forward from the crowd until he found himself staring upwards at the king and Lady Margaery, who looked at him curiously.

"Your Grace," said Jon.

"Is there something I can help you with, boy?" said Robert, who gazed at him intently.

"I am afraid your life is in danger, your Grace," said Jon.

The crowd stared in shock before laughing at him.

"My life is always in danger, boy. After all I am King," said Robert.

"In what danger is the king in, Jon?" Ned said, very seriously and surprised.

"I believe that the Master of Whisperers is scheming to remove you from the Throne, Your Grace," said Jon.

At that the crowd gasped, while Robert's face became red serious.

"What proof do you have of that, boy?"

"My sister Arya overheard him talking in the dungeons with a Targaryen collaborator, and..."

**"WHAT?!?"**

Jon was surprised when Robert charged and gripped him fiercely by the collar.

"What do you mean, a Targaryen collaborator? Who?" roared Robert.

"Your Grace," said Father, whose eyes bulged in shock at the sight. "Please just calm down..."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!? You want me to calm down when that Targaryen bitch still breathes, ready to give birth at any moment, and seeks my crown especially when I..." Robert's eyes widened before shouting. "She planned this! She planned to attack me when she found out that not only did I just get betrothed, but we are fighting the fucking Others. Damn that dragonwhore to all of the Seven Hells! Where is Varys? I'm going to smash my warhammer in his chest the way I did his precious Prince Rhaegar!"

"Your Grace," said Ser Barristan Selmy. "Lord Varys is not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?" screamed Robert.

"He said that he had urgent business to take care of in Essos."

"Damn it all to the Seven Hells!" King Robert cried. "Find him and bring him back to me alive! Anyone who does will receive a lordship and title!"

Most of the Kingsguard easily rushed out to find the Master of Whisperers after hearing those words.

"My lords and ladies, I believe that that is..." said Lord Arryn.

At that, they heard the doors to the Throne Room open and a figure cloaked in red appeared to walk towards them.

Everyone, including King Robert and Jon, stared at the figure, which was revealed to be a woman considering her figure.

"Sister, I'm glad that you could come," said a fat man with a shaven head and a smooth face, cloaked in the exact same robes as the mysterious woman.

"Sister?" Robert said half-jokingly. "I didn't even know you had a sister, Thoros."

"All of us are brothers and sisters in R'hllor, your Grace," said Thoros.

"Of course," grumbled Robert, before turning to the woman. "To what business do you have with Your King?"

The woman removed her cloak. The crowd murmured as the woman revealed herself to be beautiful, with long hair the color of deep burnished copper, unsettling red eyes, and pale, unblemished skin. The priestess was slender, graceful, and taller than most knights. She had full breasts, a narrow waist, and a heart-shaped face. Around her neck was a red gold choker containing a ruby.

"Your Grace," said the woman. "Before your brother Stannis passed on, the Lord of Light had shown me in his flames and I believed that he was Azor Ahai reborn, the great champion of R'hllor to help stand against the darkness that approaches."

"Witch!" came a scream from the crowd.

"Off with her head!"

"Quiet!" spoke Robert, before turning to the woman. "Now, my Lady..."

"Melisandre, your Grace."

"Lady Melisandre, you must know that I don't believe in grumpkins and snarks--"

"But you know the Great Other, the great servant of Darkness, has returned."

Gasps were heard throughout the throne room.

Robert stared at her curiously. "How do you know that?"

"The Lord of Light showed me when I arrived on Dragonstone."

"You were on Dragonstone? When?"

"A moon ago, when I attempted to bring your brother back from the darkness."

"What?"

"I tried my best to bring him back to serve as R'hllor's champion, but my attempts proved futile, so I turned to my Lord for advice, and there I saw."

"Saw what?"

"That your brother was not the Prince that was Promised," said the woman, before looking into Jon's eyes. "He is."

**A/N:** Well another chapter is up. I felt like I could've done a little bit better on this. I apologize if this feels rushed in any way, but I wanted to up the stakes higher, so I really hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Next time, we will see tensions rise with the arrival of Melisandre. Nevertheless, Jon's life is about to experience a tremendous change whether he likes it or not.


	22. Eddard VII

Chapter 21:

EDDARD

Ned and everyone in the courtroom remained deathly silent after Melisandre's proclamation... until Robert laughed.

Slowly everyone, except those who knew Jon's true identity, laughed along with Robert.

"You can't be serious... ha ha ha!" Robert panted with laughter. "This boy, the Prince who was Promised?" He gave in to more laughter before his sides hurt. "That was a good jape, my lady. Perhaps you should be friends with my royal jester."

"It is no jest, Your Grace," said Melisandre. "This boy really is the Prince who was Promised."

Robert's grin disappeared off his face, but before he could say anything, it was his brother the Master of Laws who spoke up.

"Forgive me, my lady," Renly said. "But do you honestly expect us to take your word? After all you said yourself that you had thought our late dear brother Stannis of being the Prince who was Promised, and even visited Dragonstone to what, bring him back from the dead? Not only that, but you failed tremendously, so forgive us if we doubt anything you say."

"I made a mistake," Melisandre said. "That much is true. But nevertheless, R'hllor has shown me in his flames that this boy is the Warrior come again."

The crowd jeered at her words.

"Such nonsense!" Robert said. "You really expect us to believe that a bastard, let alone a legitimized bastard, is your Lord's chosen Warrior to lead the fight against the Others? And how in the bloody Seven Hells can he be a Prince when he is Ned Stark's..." Robert stopped, as he contemplated his words and thought very carefully before turning to Ned, who was shocked to see the way his eyes were looking at him... no, not at him, through him. Ned did his best not to gulp as the King's gaze focused on him.

"Ned, who is your bastard's mother?" Robert said.

Ned turned to see all eyes stare in his direction. Jon looked at him with worry, Jaime with concern, while Robert's eyes were brewing a storm inside them.

"Your Grace?..."

"Tell us, Ned. Who was the mother to your _bastard_ here?" Ned heard the venom Robert spat out when saying the word.

Jon's hand slowly gripped his sword, but Ned's eyes found his, advising him not to.

"Robert, what is so important about who the mother of Ned Stark's bastard is?," said Jon Arryn, who attempted to diffuse the situation from getting any worse.

"That is exactly the question, Jon," said Robert. "I ask you again, Ned, who is your bastard's mo--"

"Wylla," Ned said quickly. "Her name was Wylla."

"Wylla," Robert said, rolling the word onto his tongue. "I remember. You never said what she looked like."

"Robert, I honestly don't see what the whole point is to all of this," said Lord Arryn.

"Maybe you don't, Jon, considering that boy is your namesake," Robert spat. "But I find it odd that I felt something familiar whenever the boy looked at me, like he wanted to kill me."

The crowd gasped at that, while Jaime and Jon's heads were starting to sweat, which was not from the heat in the city.

"My son Jon never wanted to kill you, Your Grace," Ned insisted, but was shocked when Robert silenced him with his glare.

"No," Robert said. "He did not. But I know that look very well, Ned. It was the same look I had when I saw Rhaegar on the battlefield. Like he wanted to kill me for something I did to him." Ned looked to Jon, whose eyes were filled with worry. "Even more, several witnesses told me that the boy moved rather quickly for his age when he dispatched Lord Jaime."

Lord Jaime moved forward and said, "Forgive me, Your Grace, but the deaths of my family had weakened my strength at that point, that Lord Jon defeated me with ease."

"That may be so, Kingslayer," Robert said, causing Jaime to glare at him. "But what is odd is that you and the Starks seem to have gotten along so easily, almost to the point where it feels like you have been good friends for years."

"Lord Jaime revealed to me why he really killed Aerys," Ned said, causing Robert's face expression to soften.

"Do tell," said Robert, looking to Jaime.

Ned nodded to him, hoping this would distract Robert away from the truth. He looked to the crowd, who remained quiet as Jaime recounted the events leading up to Aerys' death. So far, most of them looked apalled at what Aerys had planned and they even looked to Jaime with newfound respect in their eyes. However, when Ned looked to Robert, he stared at him intensely.

"Your Grace, perhaps it would be best to send men down to confirm Lord Jaime's claims," Grand Maester Pycelle said.

"Soon enough," Robert said. "Just after Ned tells us who the mother to his bastard is."

"Robert, please don't do this," Ned said.

"Don't do what, Ned?" Robert said. "I mean it's not like you're hiding a dragonspawn amongst your House."

Robert chuckled, expecting Ned to join along, but seeing the expression on his face, he stared at him in shock before looking at Jon and seeing the same look on his face.

"Robert," Ned said softly.

It was at that point all the Seven Hells had broken loose.

Robert's hand shot out at Jon, who was still within his grasp and lifted him up in the air in a chokehold.

"Jon!" Ned shouted as he rushed to stop his friend from choking his friend, whose face was beginning to redden as he struggled against Robert who, although fat, still had the same strength in him during his youth.

Two Kingsguard unsheathed their swords and went after Ned, but were immediately cut down by Lord Jaime before they fell to the ground.

The first sight of blood caused Renly to gag while the lords and ladies dispersed from the room, with Jory and the Stark men to do battle with the Baratheon and Tyrell men as they protected Sansa.

Ned moved forwards to save Jon, but his path was stopped by none other than See Barristan, who held his sword out.

"I really don't want to do this, Lord Stark," said Barristan.

"Then step aside, Ser Barristan," Jaime said. "After all your King is killing the son of the man you once loved."

Ser Barristan was about to respond, when Jon Arryn spoke, "Robert, stop this madness right now."

"Madness?" Robert said as he turned to the elder Jon as his grip tightened on the younger's neck. "Madness?!? The only madness that I know of is that the man who I thought my best friend ends up stabbing me in the back by protecting his sister's murderer."

"Robert, if you could give Ned the chance to explai--"

"Explain? What in the bloody hell is there to explain? He disgraces her memory by keeling this dragonspawn alive. But let me ask you this, Ned. How long have you been in contact with Daenerys Targaryen?"

"Never."

"**LIES!**" roared Robert, whose grip tightened even more on Jon.

"I'm telling you the truth, Robert," said Ned. "We have never contacted Daenerys Targaryen to tell her we support her claim to the Iron Throne."

"But you decided to support your nephew's, am I right?" Robert growled.

"Robert, I beg you," Ned said. "Please spare Jon's life. He has done no wrong here."

"The only wrong he's ever done is his very existence," Robert spat. "How could you, Ned? You knew as well as I did, that Rhaegar kidnapped your sister and then he raped her and forced her to give birth to his child. Or have you forgotten all these years? Why we sought to get rid of the dragons once and for all? Do you not remember that, Ned? What they did to your father, to your brother? What _he_ did to your sister?"

Ned could see Jon's struggle weakening as he gave a pained look to his father.

"Robert please. Let the boy go. You know what we're up against, what is happening at the Wall."

"Somehow I'm not so sure if you're even telling the truth."

"Robert, please. I know that you are angry with me, that you feel betrayed, but let the boy live. Not for my sake, but for hers, Robert."

"You honestly expect me to believe that Lyanna would let this..." Robert glared up at Jon intensively. "...thing live?"

"Yes," Ned said. "I know my sister well enough to know she loved her son so much the moment she made me promise to protect him. Listen, Robert, if I could go back and stop her from going with Rhaegar, I would. But there's not a day that goes by where I don't regret my decision in letting Jon live."

Robert glared up at Jon, who matched his look with intensity.

"Tell me something, Ned," Robert said. "Did she love me?"

"Robert?" said Ned, who was genuinely confused.

"Did Lyanna say she loved me as she made you promise her?" Robert said, eager to know Lyanna's thoughts. "And don't try and lie to me. I will know if you do so."

Ned hesitated before sighing heavily. "I'm so sorry, Robert. I never meant to hurt you in any way."

"Just answer my question, Ned. Did she love me?"

Ned shook his head sadly. "No, she did not. She loathed the man you were. She said that no matter if you had been married to her, you would not have been faithful to her."

"I would have changed for her, Ned!" Robert insisted. "I would have, I swear it to the gods. I would have for my Lyanna's sake."

"Then for her sake, let the boy live, Robert," said Ned.

Robert looked up at Jon, and seemed to study him closely.

"He's a Targaryen," Robert said.

"By birth," Ned insisted. "Yes, Rhaegar may have been his father by blood, but _I am his father_ in every sense of the word. I know him better than anyone in this world to know that he will not seek vengeance from you nor does he want the Iron Throne."

"No," Robert conceded. "If he did, I would have been dead a long time ago. But how do I know that he doesn't have his ancestors' madness? Aerys didn't have it until he was late in life."

"He doesn't," Ned said. "I've raised him well enough in our Northern conditions to know he won't attack a man behind his back, let alone his king. To do so is cowardly."

"Ah yes, your precious Northern honor," Robert laughed bitterly. "How good of you to remind me, Ned, given our years of friendship." He sighed. "Ned, as much as I want to believe you about the _boy, _I can't trust you after what you did. More importantly, I don't trust the other lords to try and have him placed on the Throne."

"He doesn't want--"

"I know he doesn't want the thing, Ned," said Robert. "Just as I know that you speak the truth of not being in contact with Daenerys. But I am the king now. The moment the other lords and ladies find out who he is -- "

"The Tyrells already know," Jon Arryn reminded him. "And they haven't betrayed your loyalty when Jon Stark--"

"Targaryen," Robert spat.

"When Jon _Targaryen's _identity was revealed," said Jon Arryn. "Please, your Grace. Spare him his life and we'll tell the lords you extended your mercy upon him."

"I'm not exactly known for being merciful, Jon," said Robert. "After all there's a reason why they call me the Demon of the Trident."

"You can change that, Robert," Ned said. "Be the man that Lyanna could have at least tolerated."

After several moments, Robert lowered Jon to the ground and let go of him. Jon coughed as his hands held his throat.

"Jon," Ned said softly.

Before he could move to his son, Robert moved to Jon and held his face in his hands and said remorsefully, "He should have been my son." Before he stepped away from Jon, who was held by two Kingsguard and turned to Ned.

"Lord Eddard Stark, Lord Jaime Lannister, and Jon Stark," Robert said. "For your crimes against the Crown, I hereby sentence you and your household to the Black Cells until you await the King's Justice."

**A/N**: Okay everyone, here's the next chapter, which will unfortunately be the last one I will post until further notice. Due to the last reviews I've received regarding this story and the apparent lack of interest in this story, I think it is best that I take an extended hiatus, to figure out its direction and to at least perfect my writing, so as not to ruin the characters and this story for you all. I apologize to everyone who have faithfully been following this story if I have already done so and for having rushed on some of the story's chapters, making choices which may have been out of character for some people. I wanted to write this chapter in the feels of a season finale, so that way I could have a proper ending for now until I decide what to do. By then, I strongly urge each and every one to go out and vote. Some of you may follow different candidates, but what matters is that you decide who is the person best qualified to run this country and help the people. Take care, stay safe and until then, I'll see you next time.


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